Category Archives: Vegetarian

Chocolate Zucchini Cake (Brownie)

This original recipe (see below picture) is called a Chocolate Zucchini Brownie but once you bake it you will realize why I changed the name and frosted it for good measure.


As I mentioned in my last post this morning, I had a bit of a water spill on my scanned copies of my grandma’s zucchini recipes. This one I should know by heart as many times as I have baked it. This one is probably the most requested zucchini recipe I have. Even my previous boss used to request this for his birthday cake at work several years ago.

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and friends do.

One of the things I like most about this recipe is that it is typed by a typewriter! Also that it doesn’t have directions just ingredients.

Grandma’s Ingredients: 

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup oleo

1/2 cup oil (grandma used vegetable; I use canola)

2 1/2 cups of ap flour

3 eggs

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 Tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 TB cocoa

3 cups of finely shredded zucchini

1/2 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Grandma’s Directions:

Save chips til last, when batter is in the pan, put chips lightly on top. 9 by 13 pan, 350 deg, 45 minutes.
My Ingredients with a few modifications:

1 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup of ap flour

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup applesauce unsweetened

2 TB flaxseed ground

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 cups finely shredded zucchini

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

4 TB Dutch Processes Cocoa

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp baking soda

3 eggs

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 ground allspice

Directions:

Predirections:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Set aside. 

1. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, oil, applesauce, and both sugars in large mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. In a seperate bowl sift together cocoa, both  flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make sure all ingredients are well incorporated.

3. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until combined. Make sure not to over mix. Fold in the zucchini with spatula and lastly fold in the chocolate chips. Bake for 38 to 40 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean). I used a dark pan which can effect the bake time.

Fudgy Frosting optional: 
(yields 2 cups of frosting)
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter (unsalted) (1/2 cup), room temperature
2/3 cup Dutch processes cocoa
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups of powdered sugar
1/3 cup skim milk
Directions:

Beat the butter with paddle attachment on high and decrease speed to low and add cocoa and mix to incorporate. Gradually add powered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Beat until fudge smooth consistency appears.


Frost the cake and cut a piece already.

Grandma Harper’s Zucchini Bread

As a child I can remember grandma always had a homemade treat at the house. My sister and I would always look forward to one of her homemade baked goods. We would often spend many of our summer breaks playing at grandma and grandpa’s whether it was mowing the lawn (playing school bus), playing with our cousins on the trampoline, swimming, or picking berries in the garden.

One of my absolute favorite treats was her zucchini bread (or cookies). Her bread was always so moist and tasted so flavorful. Each bite was always rich with cinnamon goodness and had the right crunchiness with the chopped walnuts. My sister and I would slather “I cannot believe it’s not butter” on top and dive in. We would have 2 or 3 slices just for breakfast.

Years ago I was on a zucchini kick (when we had an abundance in the garden) and grandma scanned her zucchini recipes for me. Accidentally one day a water spill got to the majority of them. I am able to make out the recipes with only a few guesses to the quantities. I can honestly say every time I make one of her recipes I get several requests for the recipe.

This is not the first recipe of her’s I have posted and after today I will start a file just for her. If you knew my grandma you would know she loved to bake and try new recipes. She always shared her recipes as well as new recipes as she came across them. She’d email me a recipe weekly if she thought I’d like it.

We said goodbye to her yesterday and I couldn’t think of a better way to honor her memory then to make breakfast with one of her recipes  today. I know every time I make a zucchini dish, see a cardinal or water my flowers I will think of her. All those things she’d shared a fondness for.  I will deeply miss her and her passion of sharing love through recipes.

Today I made some modifications but I will list her recipe as it reads in case you cannot make out the water marks (above).

This recipe yields two standard (8.5″) bread loaves or one bread loaf and 10-12 muffins.

Grandma’s original :

2 cups of AP flour

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup nuts, chopped

2 cup grated zucchini (the best is from the garden)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Directions: 

Beat eggs, add oil, sugar and vanilla, mix well. Add zucchini with dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Grandma recipes were always simple and delicious.

 

Now for the changes, I have to admit I couldn’t allow for 1 cup of oil! 

Ingredients: 

1 cups of AP flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup canila oil

2 TB ground flaxseed

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 baking powder

2 cups of finely shredded zucchini (not peeled)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat bread loaf with cooking spray. Also line muffin tins with paperliners and spray with cooking spray.

Beat eggs, add oil, applesauce, sugar, vanilla mix well. Add zucchini with dry ingredients. Fold in nuts. Mix well. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans at 350 for 38 minutes. Or bake one loaf at 350 for 38 minutes for the bread and 23 to 25 for the muffins. ***Use scoop size 16 for perfectly sized muffins. Place 3 cups of batter in one bread loaf pan. **

Old Fashioned Shortcake 

  

We celebrated Father’s Day today with a family picnic at my mom and dad’s. My mom requested I bake a shortcake to pair with my grandpa’s amazingly delicious homegrown strawberries. I can honesty say this was always a favorite growing up! My sister and I would swim all day long in our grandparents’ pool. We would really work up and an appetite and after swimming my grandpa would fix us a bowl of strawberries and vanilla ice cream on shortcake. Yes that is what summer tastes like to me. Today I thought I’d share the memory with you. 

I like this dessert because I was able to decrease the sugar by 66% and add cinnamon to naturally sweeten the dish. Plus I add some whole wheat pastry flour without anyone noticing. I substituted the butter for a heart healthy alternative as well. I challenge you to do the same when you are following old passed down family favorites. 

Yields: 18 servings 

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 cup ap flour

4 large eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

2 TB canola oil

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp ground vienmesse cinnamon 

Predirections preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9 by 13 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer beat eggs for 3 minutes on medium speed. Gradually add in sugar, vanilla, and oil to incorporate. Set aside. 

2. In a seperate bowl mix together flours, cinnamon, salt, baking powder. Whisk together well to incorporate throughly. Set aside.

3. On low speed, gradually add one third of the flour mix to the liquid batter and mix until incorporated then add1/3 of buttermilk and mix. repeat until no ingredients remain. Mix well enough no dry residue remains. 

4. Pour batter into the 9 by 13 baking pan. Make sure to pound the pan on the counter 1-2 times to release the air bubbles. I used a dark pan and baked it for 25 minutes at 350. When the timer went off my cake was done. A toothpick came out of the center clean. 

 

5. I made this cake a day before the party and it turned out very well. I let it cool completely then wrapped it with saran wrap. Prior to plating the cake, we cut the cake in half and stuffed it with homemade whip cream, strawberries, and our favorite local ice cream store’s vanilla.  

Mini Pineapple Rhubarb  Upsidedown Cake

  
Today is my husband and I’s 8 year anniversary and one of his favorite desserts is pineapple upsidedown cake. When I asked him what dessert he wanted for our anniversary (which I already knew the answer)  he requested pineapple upsidedown cake. I am not fond of making the same recipe twice, so of course I had to take the original recipe up a notch and add some homegrown rhubarb and whole wheat flour. Since it was just us two today, I made a mini 6 inch cake for sharing. 

Yields 4 pieces 

Ingredients:

Top ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)

2 TB melted unsalted butter 

1 (8 oz can crushed pineapple) juice removed and saved for something else) keep 1 TB 

2 fresh stalks of rhubarb (cut down the center) and as desired to fit into cake pan

Cake batter ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 TB canola oil

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp kosher salt 

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper in cake pan. Set aside. 

2. Melt butter in glass bowl, add brown sugar and whisk. Place evenly on the bottom of the baking pan. Lay the rhubarb down first on top of butter mixture ( I regretfully didn’t do this but will next time). I was hoping to have the rhubarb shine though in the end result but as you see above it is a hidden jem.

  
Place crushed pineapple on top the rhubarb evenly and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together allspice, flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. 

In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, sugar, oil, vanilla, and buttermilk. 

Add in dry mix of ingredients into the wet and use spatula to incorporate.  

Pour batter over top the rhubarb and bake for 25 to 28 minutes. Or until toothpick comes out clean from the center. 

Allow to cool on wire rack for 5 minutes in the pan. After the time has elapsed remove from pan into dish. 
  

Enjoy!

   

Banana Oat Cookies

  

I picked up a 1970’s cookie cookbook at a local loved flea market. I was reviewing the recipes this past weekend. I found many that peaked my interest. I found one in particular that I just couldn’t wait to try since I have an abundance of ripe bananas. I made many modifications to make the recipe more up to date and less sugar and transfat. I also added more whole grains as well. These cookies are crisp on the outside and light and fluffy in the inside.
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 3/4 cup 100% old fashioned oats

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil 

1/4 cup canola oil 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 chopped walnuts

2 TB grounded flaxseed

1 egg

1 tsp kosher salt 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground vietnesse cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place parchment paper on 1/2 sheet pan and set aside.

2. In a medium to large bowl, mash bananas, coconut oil, and canola oil together. Add vanilla and egg to mix & whisk to incorporate. Set aside

3. In a separate medium bowl whisk together oats, flaxseed, flour, salt, soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet batter. Use spatula to fully incorporate the ingredients together leaving no dry residue. Lastly fold in walnuts until evenly distributed thought cookie batter.

4. Using a number 60 scoop portion out cookies 12 to 14 to a pan. Place the pan in oven for 10 minutes or until cookies form a light golden color on the exterior.

5. Remove from the pan immediately and cool  the cookies on wire rack.

Enjoy!

  


Banana Crumb Breakfast Cake

  
I do have to admit I love baking early in the morning before my husband gets up. I always like having something in the oven before he walks out into the kitchen and wants to pour a bowl of cereal. I like to think the aroma of homemade goodness helps place him in good spirits for the remainder of the day. Baking early also helps clear my mind and plan my day. 

I had quite a few dozen bananas leftover. I thought I was going to need more for cupcake order but didn’t end up using all of them. I think today I’ll be eating bananas breakfast lunch and dinner and maybe dessert too. I will probably individually freeze some as well for banana ice cream!

Preheat oven to 350 degree and spray a 8 by 8 oven safe dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Yields 9 servings 


Cake Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp ground Vietnamese cinnamon

One and a half teaspoons of baking powder

Half a teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of vanilla pure extract

Half a cup of whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup of regular all-purpose flour

2 ripe bananas mashed well

1/2 cup skim milk

1 egg or 3 TB egg substitute 

2/3 cup granulated sugar

Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup Ap flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)

6 TB unsalted butter

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Optional powdered sugar dizzle:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 TB skim milk

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mash bananas set aside.

  
2. In a medium bowl whisk flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

  
3. In small bowl whisk canola oil, granulated sugar. Add egg and vanilla whisk to combine. 

4. Add in milk to liquid ingredients and whisk to incorporate. 


5. Add the dry ingredients  to the wet and whisk together until no dry residue remains. 

 

6. Fold in mashed bananas using spatula.  

 

7. Pour the batter into a cooking sprayed 8 by 8 baking dish. Set aside.

  
8. In medium bowl mix  all the crumble topping ingredients using a butter cutter cut butter into pea size wet sandlike texture. 

 

9. Bake for 35 to 38 minutes or until toothpick comes out of the center clean. 

 

10. Allow to cool on wire rack for ten minutes before cutting into or frosting with powdered sugar dizzle. 
 

11. For powdered sugar dizzle place skim milk and powdered sugar in bowl and whisk add more milk if necessary to reach desired constancy. Pour on to crumble. I didn’t use the entire amount. 

12. Enjoy with some coffee!

  

Rhubarb Custard Bars

 

Today I picked my first batch of rhubarb. I have been wanting to make these bars for a while but didn’t have quite enough rhubarb in the freezer. So once my rhubarb was ready to harvest this was the first recipe I had to try. The original is on taste of home, I couldn’t leave well enough alone as my mom would say so I had to cut down on the saturated fats by swapping out some of the heavy cream, eggs, and butter. I also decreased sugar, & added whole grain to the crust.

 

This recipe yields 36 bars 


Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup ap flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

6 TB unsalted butter (cold) cubed

1/4 cup sugar

Custard ingredients:

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup fat free half and half 

5 cups chopped rhubarb

1 Tsp vanilla pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup egg substitute 

Cream Cheese Topping

1 (8 oz block of reduced fat cream cheese)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup fat free half and half

1/2 cup whip cream 

Directions:

Mix with hands mix butter, sugar and flour. Until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Press the mixture into 9 by 13 glass pan (sprayed with cooking spray). Bake for 10 minutes. 

Take out of oven and set aside.
    

In the meantime mix half and half, cream, egg substitute, sugar, & vanilla. Add in rhubarb mix to combine.

  
 Pour over crust. 

 
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
  

Set aside and allow to cool. In the meantime whip up cream and fat free half and half until thickened. Mix on high speed in a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment until thick. Place in refrigerator . In a separate bowl beat cream cream, sugar, and vanilla. Fold in cream mixture. 
 

Spread over cooled bars.  

Enjoy!

   

Meatball Pockets

 

Need a quick dinner or snack try these little meatball pockets. 

This recipe yields 10 minutes mini pockets

Ingredients:

2 cans of pillsbury small flaky biscuits (one ones that usually come in a 4 pack)

10 frozen regular sized meatballs  (thawed & cooked as directed according to package) ***vegetarian meatballs work well***

2 sticks of part skim mozzarella cheese string cheese (cut into chunks)

1-2 TB Fresh parm cheese grated (optional)

1 cup of jarred pasta sauce (homemade or your favorite)

Pasta sprinkle to taste (Italian seasoning) *** optional**

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Spray with cooking spray 10 large sized muffin tins. 

3. Press one biscuit into each of the 10 molds.
 

4. Press the dough down into the tin & top biscuit with scant 1 TB of tomato sauce and 2-3 pieces of the string cheese.


5. Now top with one meatball each. 

  

 

6. Sprinkle with pasta sprinkle and top with additional biscuit. Flatten biscuit slightly and  drape around meatball.

7. Bake for 12-18 minutes or until golden brown.

  
8. Remove from oven and grate with some fresh parm cheese for added flavor.

Enjoy! 

  

Rhubarb Strawberry Coffee Cake

coffee cake

Recipes yields 16 pieces!

 

We made this for the Mother’s Day brunch. My mom saw the basic recipe in the local newspaper back home. I wanted to use up some rhubarb and try to decrease some of the fat in the recipe. I don’t think it will be missed. Not to mention there was not a piece left ! No joke…

May 2016 UPDATE: 

This recipe was also featured in Taste Of Home Magazine April/ May 2016. I made it again for our 2nd Annual Mother’s Day Brunch May 7th. Taste of Home suggested freezing this cake, if you want to make it in advance. This year I did, I made the cake a few days before the brunch. Once the cake cooled completely out of the oven, I wrapped the entire cake (still in the springform pan) with plastic wrap and placed it in the deep freezer. I took it out 3 hours before our event, and allowed it to cool at room temperature, it was still very cold and firm similar to a cheesecake. Which was okay, but if you want to thaw the cake out completely I recommend taking the cake out the night before and letting it thaw in the refrigerator.

 

IMG_6748

The Mother’s Day Menu for this year 2016 was:

Rhubarb Coffee Cake (recipe below)

Yogurt Bar with Greek Vanilla Yogurt, Homemade Maple Granola, Fresh Raspberries, Blackberries, and Strawberries, Fresh Cantaloupe & Freshly Whipped Whipped Cream

Caramelized Onion, Bacon & Kale Strada made with Homemade Bread

Hash brown Quiche Cups

Cucumber Mint Water

Mini Pink Lemonade Muffins & Mini Key Lime Muffins

 

736789_986595164753073_3265016851850206786_o
Cake Ingredients:

2 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (Or 1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and 1 Cup AP <last years 2015 recipe I did this> )

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup cold cubed unsalted butter

3/4 cup fat free sour cream

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 egg

Cream Cheese Filling

1 (8 oz ) 1/3 fat reduced Cream Cheese block (room temp)

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

3/4 cup diced fresh strawberries

3/4 cup chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)

1 TB water

3 TB Sugar

1 1/2 tsp corn starch

one 8″ springform pan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch springform pan with parchment paper and spray with baking joy.  Set aside

2. Prepare the strawberry rhubarb compote. Combine in a 2 qt. sauce pan the cornstarch, sugar & water mix well. Add the strawberries and rhubarb and place on low heat until strawberries and rhubarb juices release. Stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes until thickened. Set aside off heat to cool to room temperature.


3. In a stand mixer, prepare the cream cheese filling by beating the cream cheese on medium high speed. Add sugar and mix, then add egg and mix to incorporate. Set aside.

4. Prepare the cake by adding flour, and butter to a large bowl. Use your hands to cut the butter into the flour until the flour resembles wet sand. Remove 3/4 cup of the flour mixture and set aside. With remaining flour add baking soda, salt, and baking powder whisk well to incorporate. Set aside.


5. In another small bowl, beat by hand the sour cream, egg and vanilla until well incorporated. Set aside.

 

6. Gently add the sour cream batter to the dry flour ingredients. Be careful not to over-mix (the batter will be lumpy). 

7. Pour the batter into the greased springform pan. Make a well with the batter, at least enough to go up the sides a 1/2 inch. Also leaving an 1/2 inch border to prevent the cream cheese filling from going to the edge of the cake.


 8. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the center of the well, make sure to leave a 1/2 inch border.


9. Now spread the strawberry and rhubarb compote on the top of the cream cheese filling.


Finally sprinkle the remaining flour mixture on the top of the strawberry and rhubarb compote. Bake for at least 55 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.


10. Take the pan out of the oven and let rest on a wire rack for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes have elapsed remove the springform pan shell.


11. Allow to cool.

12. Dig in!

Fig Granola Engery Bites

 

This  recipe yields  33 bites

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup 100% old fashioned oats

1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)

2 tablespoons of wheat germ

1/2 cup of chopped finely figs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/3 cup local honey

1/4 tsp ground Vietnamese cinnamon

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Place honey and peanut butter in a microwavable safe small bowl.  Microwave for one minute then add vanilla . Set aside.
  
2. In a medium to large bowl place all the dry ingredients. Toss to mix.

   
 
3. Add in the liquid ingredients and incorporate thoroughly throughout the dry ingredients.

  
4. Cover and place batter in freezer for 15 to 30 minutes.

5. Scoop using a size 60 scoop and portion out 33 bite-size granola and bits. 

  6. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight. Enjoy!