What I have been doing with my Door to Door Organics Box....

It's been a couple of weeks since I wrote about my Door to Door Organics box. I've been pondering on my approach with this and have decided that I would pick a couple of interesting recipes and feature them instead of listing each and every things we eat with the produce from our box.  Truth be told, I make a lot of the same type of things over and over changing out the ingredients with whatever produce I get in my box that week.  I think it's going to get pretty boring if I continue listing everything we ate for the week, no?  If there is something that you are just dying to know what I did with, send me a note! 

So, this week I have two cakes (yes, cakes!), both made with whole wheat flour, vegetables, and frosted with the best vanilla frosting ever.  And they are both really good.

The first cake is made with beets and tastes like a really moist spice cake.  You cannot taste the beets at all (unless you roast and puree them first, which I have done and actually enjoyed).  I took these to Bible study the other night and everyone loved them. I've taken them to Pilates class, made them for friends, dinner parties - good reviews all the way around.  Even the people who have never eaten beets before like it!  This is based on Tyler Florence's recipe from Dinner at My Place.  I made all my usual adjustments with the refined ingredients and you really would never know.  It's very moist and light.  Then there's frosting.  Oh how I love the frosting.  It's such an interesting recipe modified from the version in Babycakes.  I call it vanilla, but by the time I'm done with it, it's probably more coconut-y.  That is because I use coconut milk, coconut oil and coconut flour.  Don't be afraid if you do not like coconut.  A.  You can forgo the coconut milk for another type of milk (soy, almond, cow, etc.) and B.  Maybe it's time you started liking coconut!  This frosting may be your gateway to converting you.

The second cake recipe is a whole wheat chocolate cake with zucchini.  This was EJ's birthday cake last week....three times.  His birthday was on Thursday and we had to take cupcakes to daycare.  Then that night we had an impromtu celebration with my brother and his family, my mom, and my grandma.  Finally, on Saturday we had the "real" party, which was just the same people along with my sister and niece.  All three parties I made this cake.  I wasn't really planning to do that, but it was so good on Thursday that everyone begged for an encore on Saturday.  So, I made it again.  I did not allow enough time for the frosting to set on Saturday, though, so I ended up with a vanilla sauce spread between the layers, as well as, poured over the top.  Judging from the picture, it would not win any beauty contests, but I promise you it would win taste contests!  In fact, it's so good that my brother wants me to make it for his wedding!  I thought I had found the perfect chocolate cake with Heidi Swanson's Basic Chocolate Cake.  Now I'm confused.  I think I am just going to have to make them both and have a side by side comparison to settle this!

Hope you enjoy these cake recipes as much as we do.  I will be traveling for work next week, so I'm likely going to skip my DTD box.  I am planning to make as much out of my hotel room as I can, though, so I think I might have some interesting things for you!  I never stop!

Whole Wheat Beet Cake with Vanilla Frosting
This is adapted from Tyler Florence's version in Dinner at my Place.  I replaced the AP flour with whole wheat, replaced the sugar with palm sugar, etc.  He tops them with a greek yogurt sauce, but I go for the Vanilla Frosting.  I make these in little 3 inch square pans to make individual cakes.  You can easily make cupcakes instead or use an 8x8 cake (square or 8 inch round).  Just adjust the baking time accordingly.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, preferrably freshly ground (use whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat, if not)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses or yacon syrup
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1/3 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup palm sugar
1 1/4 cup peeled, grated beets (about 2 beets)
1/2 recipe Vanilla Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease pans or muffin tins for cupcakes. 

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk together molasses, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and sugar.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until completely combined.  Fold in the beets.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 20-25 minutes or until baked through (test with toothpick).  Cool completely, remove from pans, and frost.

Vanilla Frosting
This is an adapted version from Babycakes by Erin McKenna.  You must let this chill for 6 hours.  I have tried freezing it to shorten that time and it doesn't work.  Look at the picture below and that is what happens after 4 hours in the freezer.  Two hours later, I had frosting.  Do note that this makes a delicious vanilla sauce that can be used in all kinds of desserts.  You can leave it at room temperature instead of chilling if you want sauce.  This does make a lot of frosting and I find that half of a recipe is enough for one cake.  I like to make the full recipe, though, to just have it around for another cake or cookie sandwiches or eating it by the spoon...

1 can coconut milk
3/4 cup vanilla protein powder (I like Jay Robb Whey.  Any vanilla protein powder will work)
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/4 cup palm sugar (raw honey, agave, or pure maple syrup would work)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a blender or food processer, add the coconut milk, protein powder, coconut flour, honey, and vanilla. Blend for 2 minutes. With the machine running, alternate additions of the coconut oil and lemon juice. Process until they are thoroughly combined. Transfer to a medium size bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. If you are in a hurry you can freeze for about an hour, remove, and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Cake

I have made this into cupcakes, layer cakes (pictured above), and in a 9x13 pan.  All work fine.  Whole spelt flour would work in place of the wheat if you watch gluten.

2 1/4 cups whole wheat (white or pastry, preferrably freshly ground)

1/2 cup unsweetened organic cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups palm sugar
1 cup coconut oil, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)
1 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (at least 65% cocao) - optional, but not really
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 recipe Vanilla Frosting (recipe is above)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan (2-8 inch cake pans or 24 cupcake pans will work. Just adjust the baking time).

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium size bowl. Beat sugar and coconut oil until very well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Add vanilla. Alternate the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the wet ingredients until everything is mixed together. Fold in the zucchini. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s). Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips (save 1/2 cup for the top). Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes clean (9x13 = appx. 50 minutes; cupcakes = appx. 25 minutes; 8 inch = appx. 40 minutes).  Cool completely, remove from pans, and frost.  Top with additional chocolate chips and coconut.

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Scones

Wow, this week has gotten away from me.  Friday already?  Spring is truly upon us!  Between cleaning and redecorating and getting the garden ready and everything else we seem to cram on our plates post-hibernation, it's easy to become a little overstimulated.  A.D.D. may be the more accurate diagnosis.  In times like these it's nice to have easy "go to" recipes which can be easily adapted to whatever you have in your pantry or to whatever is in season.  I just made one of those recipes - scones. 

I have made these so many different ways and they are always a hit.  I usually get up early on Saturday mornings to workout and stay longer then usual, so I like to have something ready for the kids to have for breakfast when they wake up.  These are perfect for that.  Even better, they freeze beautifully, so we can enjoy them on Saturday morning and then freeze the rest to pull out on some obsure weekday where we need to get around earlier than usual.  Tonight I made a banana/chocolate chip version sweetened with agave.  So good.  I had to test one of them to make sure they would be acceptable.  Sometimes I like using apples and maple syrup or pears and ginger or raspberries or blueberries - possibilities are endless!  It truly is a "go to" recipe for me.  Although, Logan asked me tonight with anticipation if I was making scone-cakes again (my mess up from last week that we all loved).  The real scones may not be as popular anymore!

Whole Wheat Scones
This recipe is adapted from BabyCakes Raspberry Scone.  I have made them so many different way, so I've written up the basic recipe and then listed some suggested add-ins.

Basic recipe:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or whole spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup coconut oil plus more for brushing
1/3 cup agave nectar plus more for brushing
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 cup hot water.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add oil, agave nectar and vanilla. Stir to a dry batter and then add hot water. Add extras (see variations below). Drop 1/4 cup of batter 1 inch apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with more coconut oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes. Rotate pan 180 degrees and bake 7 minutes longer. Remove from oven and brush with agave nectar.  Cool completely.

Note:  These freeze very well. You can either bake them and freeze them individually or drop the batter onto the pan and freeze them individually unbaked. When you want to bake one just bake at 375 degrees for 14 minutes, rotate 180 degrees and bake 7 minutes longer.

Add in ideas:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened dried fruit - currents, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates, chopped figs, etc.
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- Maple syrup or honey in place of agave nectar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup any fresh fruit (chopped strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, chopped apples are all good)
- ½ cup oats (may need to add some more hot water)

Whole Wheat Mesquite Cornbread

Tonya and I are going to be taking a break from teaching classes this month (with the exception of one on 3/18), so we can spend some much needed time on a new website/blog.  While this one has served it's purpose, we have grand ideas for a really great and informative website and can't wait to unveil it.  I will continue posting new content on this one, mainly recipes, so we can build that part of our website up.  Hope you enjoy them!

I have wanted to experiment with mesquite flour since the first time I made Heidi Swanson's Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies from Super Natural Cooking.  Those are the cookies we made last week and I featured the recipe in my last post.  To quote myself, here is a little information about mesquite flour:

Mesquite flour - This is a fun ingredient. Mesquite flour (aka "mesquite meal") is simply pods from a mesquite tree finely ground into powder. Indigenous to desert regions, mesquite trees can be found from central Texas to Southeast California. Typically we think about mesquite flavoring when grilling meats. The soft, smoky aroma of mesquite flour, though, pairs perfectly with chocolate. The health benefits are incredible, too. It's full of fiber, protein, nutrients, and essential minerals, such as, magnesium, iron, zinc, and potassium. Historically, mesquite was an integral part of Native American's diet. It is very low on the glycemic index and actually promotes balanced blood sugar. Add a spoonful to oatmeal or smoothies and you will feel fuller longer. Cross my heart. I like to purchase mine online from Barry Farms. One pound is $6.09 or you can purchase 5 pounds and receive a discount. If you don't think you'll use that much, go in with a few friends and split it up. FYI, Barry Farms has a recipe for a Mesquite Yellow Cake that I just saw and will be making very soon!

I can't reiterate enough how good mesquite flour is.  So different and unexpected.  Many people think the taste resembles cocoa and I can see that.  Not sweetened cocoa, though.  And it has a warm, almost cinnamon-y flavor, too, but it's not overly spicy.  I hesitate calling it sweet, because I just compared it to cocoa and cinnamon. It really is more of a smoky flavor, but it does have a slighty sweet element to it,too.  Are you intrigued?  I haven't made the yellow cake from Barry Farm's website that I promised I would make last week, but instead I made mesquite cornbread to go with some black bean and quinoa soup. 

I modified my usual whole wheat cornbread recipe (modified from Barefoot Contessa's recipe), to replace 25% of the whole wheat flour with mesquite flour.  That's about the right proportion.  Any more than 25% and the flavor becomes a tad strong.  The result was the best cornbread I have ever had.  I didn't think the original recipe could be topped, but I was wrong.  My family agreed, too.  My youngest son, who will turn 2 in April, has been gobbling it up all week and asking for more "cake".  It is extremely moist and a little on the sweet side, which is interesting since there is only 1/4 cup of honey for a huge amount of cornbread.  I think that's a good thing, though!  It was great with the soup, even better with an over easy egg and Chile de Arbol Sauce (also from Super Natural Cooking), exceptionally good with almond butter and honey, and if I had some fresh or frozen raspberries, I suspect making some type of raspberry sauce to drizzle it over it would make a wonderful dessert.  Next up may be some mesquite banana pancakes with pure maple syrup or maybe some type of mesquite scone with chocolate chips or raspberries. 

Whole Wheat Mesquite Cornbread

This makes a lot of cornbread, but it freezes well so don't be afraid.  You may be able to cut the recipe in half and bake it in an 8x8 pan.  Just adjust the baking time.  If you don't have mesquite flour, just use all whole wheat.  You'll end up with something close to the original version of the recipe.  Whole spelt flour would work fine in place of the wheat if you want to go that route.

2 1/4 cup freshly ground wheat (or whole wheat pastry flour)

3/4 cup mesquite flour

1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal

2 tablespoons aluminum free baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups 1% milk

3 extra large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup coconut oil, slightly melted

1/4 cup raw honey

1/2 cup freshly grated manchego cheese, optional

Combine flours, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, coconut oil, and honey.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and stir only until everything is combined.  Do not overmix.  Stir in the cheese, if using.  Allow the mixture to sit for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 glass pan.  Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool slightly and serve with honey.

Whole Wheat Mesquite Cornbread

I have wanted to experiment with mesquite flour since the first time I made Heidi Swanson's Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies from Super Natural Cooking. Those are the cookies we made last week and I featured the recipe in my last post. To quote myself, here is a little information about mesquite flour:

Mesquite flour - This is a fun ingredient. Mesquite flour (aka "mesquite meal") is simply pods from a mesquite tree finely ground into powder. Indigenous to desert regions, mesquite trees can be found from central Texas to Southeast California. Typically we think about mesquite flavoring when grilling meats. The soft, smoky aroma of mesquite flour, though, pairs perfectly with chocolate. The health benefits are incredible, too. It's full of fiber, protein, nutrients, and essential minerals, such as, magnesium, iron, zinc, and potassium. Historically, mesquite was an integral part of Native American's diet. It is very low on the glycemic index and actually promotes balanced blood sugar. Add a spoonful to oatmeal or smoothies and you will feel fuller longer. Cross my heart. I like to purchase mine online from Barry Farms. One pound is $6.09 or you can purchase 5 pounds and receive a discount. If you don't think you'll use that much, go in with a few friends and split it up. FYI, Barry Farms has a recipe for a Mesquite Yellow Cake that I just saw and will be making very soon!

I can't reiterate enough how good mesquite flour is. So different and unexpected. Many people think the taste resembles cocoa and I can see that. Not sweetened cocoa, though. And it has a warm, almost cinnamon-y flavor, too, but it's not overly spicy. I hesitate calling it sweet, because I just compared it to cocoa and cinnamon. It really is more of a smoky flavor, but it does have a slighty sweet element to it,too. Are you intrigued? I haven't made the yellow cake from Barry Farm's website that I promised I would make last week, but instead I made mesquite cornbread to go with some black bean and quinoa soup.

I modified my usual whole wheat cornbread recipe (modified from Barefoot Contessa's recipe), to replace 25% of the whole wheat flour with mesquite flour. That's about the right proportion. Any more than 25% and the flavor becomes a tad strong. The result was the best cornbread I have ever had. I didn't think the original recipe could be topped, but I was wrong. My family agreed, too. My youngest son, who will turn 2 in April, has been gobbling it up all week and asking for more "cake". It is extremely moist and a little on the sweet side, which is interesting since there is only 1/4 cup of honey for a huge amount of cornbread. I think that's a good thing, though! It was great with the soup, even better with an over easy egg and Chile de Arbol Sauce (also from Super Natural Cooking), exceptionally good with almond butter and honey, and if I had some fresh or frozen raspberries, I suspect making some type of raspberry sauce to drizzle it over it would make a wonderful dessert. Next up may be some mesquite banana pancakes with pure maple syrup or maybe some type of mesquite scone with chocolate chips or raspberries.

Whole Wheat Mesquite Cornbread
This makes a lot of cornbread, but it freezes well so don't be afraid. You may be able to cut the recipe in half and bake it in an 8x8 pan. Just adjust the baking time. If you don't have mesquite flour, just use all whole wheat. You'll end up with something close to the original version of the recipe. Whole spelt flour would work fine in place of the wheat if you want to go that route.

2 1/4 cup freshly ground wheat (or whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cup mesquite flour
1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal
2 tablespoons aluminum free baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups 1% milk
3 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup coconut oil, slightly melted
1/4 cup raw honey
1/2 cup freshly grated manchego cheese, optional

Combine flours, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, coconut oil, and honey. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and stir only until everything is combined. Do not overmix. Stir in the cheese, if using. Allow the mixture to sit for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 glass pan. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly and serve with honey.

Whole Wheat Fig and Rosemary Crackers

The basic recipe is the flour, salt, liquid (milk in this case, but you could use water), and oil (any type of oil can be used or butter). This would make a basic cracker. You can add or change the remaining ingredients, as desired. You could use cheddar cheese, a different herb, top with any number of seeds, garlic, etc. Use the quantities above as a guide for other variations you may come up with.1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup milk
4 dried figs diced small
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly dust with flour. Put flour, salt, cheese and oil in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour and butter are combined. Add about 1/4 cup milk and let machine run for a bit; continue to add liquid a teaspoon at a time, until mixture holds together but is not sticky. Form dough into a disk and allow it to rest 10 minutes.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/2-inch thick or even thinner, adding flour as needed. Make it as thin as you can make it. If you are doubling the recipe at all, divide the dough into smaller pieces to roll it out to ensure the center is thin. Transfer sheet of dough to prepared baking sheet (drape it over rolling pin to make it easier). Score lightly with a sharp knife, pizza cutter or a pastry wheel if you want to break crackers into squares or rectangles later on. Sprinkle with salt or other topping if you like.

Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. You don’t want to under bake these, as that will result in a softer cracker. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature or store in a tin for a few days.