Xmas Eve Desserts

Guest Spot: Cabbage & Apple Salad with Warm Mustard Vinaigrette

This one just in from my childhood friend Kristen. She and her partner Steve just finished the 2800+ mile trek on the Pacific Crest Trail. They are now recuperating in Crested Butte for the winter.
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this is one of my favorite winter recipes - which is easy to make completely vegan, especially tasty with an earthy homemade loaf of bread. it serves 6, but we eat it as an entire meal and get 3 full meals out of it, just toss in some already cooked tofu, or chicken or a piece of leftover grilled tuna or salmon for the non vegans in your household. i've never even used pine nuts, just walnuts and toasted pecans. i also alter the cabbage and radicchio, based on what is available, one being red, the other green. also good as leftovers for lunch and i toss in leftover pasta then.

1/2 sm head green cabbage, cored
1/2 sm head radicchio, cored
1 large apple, cored
juice of 1/2 lemon

Vinaigrette
1/4 c olive oil
2 Tb minced shallots
5 Tb Champagne vinegar
1/2 c chicken or vegetable broth - homemade is awesome
1 tsp brown sugar
2 T dijon or stone ground mustard
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste
3 Tb toasted pine nuts or hazelnuts

Thinly slice the cabbage and radicchio. Set aside. Julienne the unpeeled apple and rinse in a solution of half lemon juice half water to minimize discoloration.

Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large skillet over med hi heat. Add shallots and saute until soft. Add vinegar, broth and brown sugar. Simmer to reduce slightly, then whisk in the mustard. Remove skillet from heat and whisk in rest of oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Add cabbage, radicchio, and apple to the skillet and toss well to coat. Garnish with nuts and serve warm.

Spiced Gift: Persimmon Chocolate Bread

Before I went off to college, I commandeered my mom's recipe box. One of the treasures I found in there, was a fool-proof recipe for banana bread. I started experimenting with the base recipe, replacing white flour with whole wheat pastry flour, swapping out eggs for Egg Replacer, and adding things like chocolate chips or different spices or nuts---sometimes only one, sometimes all of them together at once. Then I started experimenting with swapping out bananas for pumpkin (YUM). That was a huge success  and so I looked for other alternatives---apple sauce, kabocha or red kuri squash, and hachiya persimmon have been favorites of friends, family, and even picky teenagers.
I get asked to share the recipe a lot so I thought I'd post here...

Ingredients:

2 Egg Replacer eggs (the resuls with Egg Replacer are better than with chicken eggs): 3 t Egg Replacer mixed thoroughly with 4 T hot water
1/2 c organic safflower or sunflower oil
the pulp from 3 completely ripe hachiya persimmons
1-1/2 c organic whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 c organic unrefined sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t sea salt, kosher salt, or Himalayan salt (just not iodized table salt, yuck!)


1-1/2 t ground cinnamon, or to taste
1 t ground cloves, or to taste (optional)
organic dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips (about 1/2 c or to taste, not optional at our house)

Heat oven 350F. Mix all the wet stuff. Add all the dry stuff except chocolate chips. Mix thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chips with silicone spatula. Scrape into greased 8x8 baking dish or loaf pan.

Bake (8x8 takes about 30 min, test with toothpick; loaf pan takes about 45 min, test w/toothpick). Cool on a rack (this is usually the point at which kids & visitors pounce).

Keeps about a week. If I have any leftovers, I like to cover it & put in fridge after the 2nd or 3rd day (depending on room temperature).

I double or triple this recipe and bake 3 loaves at a time for holiday gifts. Wrap in unbleached wax paper, wrap in recycled alum foil. Tie with ribbon.

Julian's Famous Guacamole

This delicious but simple simple simple guacamole recipe is Julian's specialty.

Ingredients:

2 ripe large avocados, pitted & peeled

1-2 T fresh lemon juice (depends on your taste preference)

1-3 t sea salt, Himalayan salt, or kosher salt (start with 1 t and check taste before you add more; do not under any circumstances use "table salt" like Morton's)

1-2 large garlic clove minced

ground cumin

fresh ground pepper (optional)

2 T red onion, small dice (optional)

2 T fresh tomato based salsa (optional)

With a potato masher, mash up avocados & some of the lemon juice until it has the desired consistency (I like my guac chunky but some people prefer smoother). Add garlic, 1 t salt and 1/2 t cumin. Taste. Add more lemon, salt, pepper, and cumin as desired. Add other optional ingredients as desired. Serve immediately.

If there is any left (doubt it!), then using a silicone spatula, put it into a smaller container with lid. Before covering, try drizzling a bit more lemon juice over it to preserve.

The World's Best Chocolate Cupcakes

These are delicious and made with the finest ingredients. Believe it or not, I adapted the recipe that I found off the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box that I clipped off the wrapper about 20 yrs ago. They are best when made with the highest quality ingredients you can find. Green & Blacks is the BEST.

You can "down-market" the ingredients, but if you do, then I can't guarantee the results!!

Cake:

2 cups organic unrefined sugar
1-3/4 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup Green & Black's organic cocoa
1-1/2 t baking powder (I use Hain Feather Weight brand, I think any non-aluminum is ok)
1-1/2 t baking soda
2 "eggs": 3 t Egg Replacer mixed well with 4 T hot water [crucial!!! results are WAY better if you don't use real eggs]
1 c. organic unsweetened soy milk, rice milk, or nut milk
1/2 c organic sunflower or safflower oil
2 t organic vanilla extract
1 c boiling filtered water

Frosting:

1/2 c Earth Balance "butter"
2/3 c Green & Black's organic cocoa
3 c organic powdered sugar
1/3 c organic unsweetened soy milk, rice milk, or nut milk
1 t  organic vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350F. Prepare cupcake pans by lining with unbleached paper cupcake cups (I use "If You Care" brand).

Combine all dry ingredients well in a large mixing bowl (I use my trusty Kitchen Aid standing mixer with paddle attachment).

Add Wet ingredients except boiling water, and mix well about 2 min on low-medium speed (so you don't splash all that precious Green & Blacks out of the bowl!).

Mix in boiling water, just until smooth. The batter is really thin at this point.

Fill cupcake cups about 2/3 of the way full if using.

Bake about 25-30 minutes checking for doneness with a toothpick (should come out clean).

Let cool completely on a rack.

To make the frosting (I use the Kitchen Aid with paddle):

Melt the butter. Add to mixing bowl with the cocoa and mix until smooth. Add about 1/4 of the sugar at a time, alternating with 1/4 of the milk until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if you want it stiffer. Add more milk to soften (I've never had to add milk, only sugar to get the right consistency but your experience will depend on your locale's humidity level). Add in the vanilla last. Mix it all up until smooth smooth smooth and stiff enough to be piped onto the cupcakes.

Using a silicone spatula, transfer frosting to pastry bag fitted with your favorite tip.

Have fun with pastry bag tips to see which one works best for you. I saw some fun ideas in a cooking magazine where the frosting looks like a star burst. I usually use a large starburst tip.

Decorate each with a piece of all natural hard candies or all natural candy coated chocolate, all natural gum drops, white chocolate chip, or whatever gives it color & makes it fun.

Family Dinner Nite started earlier this year. James just remodeled the kitchen, and it inspired him to start cooking. Or maybe it was my cooking that inspired him to cook---too many greens? Not enough butter?