My "Loaded" Honey/Wheat Muffins

I got the idea for these muffins from various other recipes and then made it my own by making/baking them as follows:

Ingredients:

2  eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup  oil
1 cup honey (I used honey from Rick's bees.) 
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour  (I used the flour I ground from our own wheat.)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder (I prefer 'aluminum free' made by Argo.)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (about 3 large?) finely grated carrots (I used carrots FRESH from Pam's garden.)
1 apple-- peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup dried cranberries (because I didn't have raisins)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded OR flake coconut
2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
2 tablespoons oat bran (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 360-degrees.  Very lightly spray insides of 18 muffin tins or paper liners with 'non-stick'. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl (I used my Kitchen-Aid) on medium speed, mix together eggs, applesauce, honey, oil and vanilla.

In separate large bowl, combine wheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir in the grated carrots, apples and 'dried fruit' (cranberries, raisins or whatever you like).  Make sure this mix is mixed well so that the grated carrots and 'dried fruit' are well dispersed.  (I used my CLEAN hands to do this.)  Now, add the egg/applesauce/honey/oil/vanilla mixture and stir only until all of the dry ingredients are moistened.

Spoon  batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.  (A cookie scoop works great for this!)  If you wish, you could sprinkle a few extra walnuts on top of these before putting them into the oven. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until their top springs back when lightly pressed. (With how my oven works, mine took 19 minutes.)

I (we) like how these turned out!

Helen's Broccoli and/or Cauliflower Soup

Now!, this recipe asks for 3 bouillon cubes or 3 teaspoons of 'soup base'.  I always used 'chicken flavored soup base' in it.  It's what you see in the dish below.   When I was making this soup today, I went ahead and measured it out-- but, then, just COULD NOT put it into the soup.  It's loaded with MSG and I figure it defeats the purpose of making 'healthy' homemade soup!   I wondered if leaving it out would 'ruin' this favorite soup of mine.  I don't think it did.  So,.............. suit yourself.  Put it in, or leave it out like I did today--  I 'tossed' it. (In fact, the next time I make this soup, I'm going to even substitute the 2 cups of hot water with MSG-free chicken stock.)

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This recipe was first given to me in the late 70's by my sister-in-law Helen.  It's easy and quick to make.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup finely chopped onion
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8 tablespoon flour
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2 cups hot water
3 chicken bouillon cubes (or 3 teaspoons chicken soup base)
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2 cups grated cheese* (med. or sharp cheddar)
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2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh (or dried) parsley
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1 large head of steamed/boiled broccoli OR cauliflower (I often use half of each).

DIRECTIONS:

In a separate saucepan, gently boil (or steam) the well-rinsed and trimmed cauliflower and/or broccoli until it is just barely tender-- drain* and set aside.  (If you are using a combination of both, they can be boiled/steamed together.)  Just before putting this into the soup, I take a potato masher and slightly break up the larger pieces.

*Chef Gordon Ramsey says you can use the 'broccoli-cooking water'-- I did that, too, since I left out the 'soup base stuff'.  Everything tasted just 'fine/dandy'.
http://gordonramsaysrecipes.com/03/gordon-ramsays-broccoli-soup/  (Before using the broccoli water, I made sure I pre-rinsed the broccoli VERY WELL.)

In fry pan, saute` onions in butter until transparent. 

Add 8 tablespoons flour and stir until blended and smooth.
  
S-l-o-w-l-y add 2 cups hot water (with the 3 chicken flavored bouillon cubes (or soup base mix IF you decide to go ahead and use it). 

Add the 2 cups grated cheese; stir until cheese* is melted.
 
Add 2 cups milk, 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce.  Blend well.
 
Now, break up the cooked cauliflower or broccoli into rather small pieces and add it to the cooked soup mixture.  (Sometimes I take my potato masher and use it lightly to break up the broccoli or cauliflower pieces.)

 I never added salt to this recipe because there was plenty in the bouillon cubes or soup base, etc.  BUT!!!..  NOW that I did NOT use the bouillon cubes or soup base, I added 1/2 teaspoon salt to the soup.
  
(If you double the recipe, you can easily use one large head of cauliflower and the same amount of broccoli-- their flavors are quite similar, or at least they are complimentary 'twins'.)

* If you leave anything too hot for too long after you have the cheese in it (or on it), the cheese will start to 'curdle'-- it still tastes good, but it is not as attractive!

Beet Cake (Check this 'oddball' cake out!)

(All photos in this blog were taken by me, Doris)

So, tell me!  WHAT cake starts out like this...?

Above:  I needed 2 cups of 'beet puree', so, leaving just a nub of 'top' and 'root' on 5-6 beets so they wouldn't 'bleed' their juice into the water, I boiled them until a bit tender.  Then, by immediately putting them into cold water, their peelings slipped off very easily.  After peeling, I trimmed the rest of their top/root and any other 'negative spots' off.  Next, I sliced them up a bit and pureed them in the food processor (I think a blender would work for that, too).   I let the puree cool just slightly before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

Below:  This is what my 2 cups of puree looked like.

Below:  This is a picture of how the 'complete' cake batter looked like when going INTO the oven (it's quite RED, huh!)...

Below:  Here is a close-up of a dark BROWN 

cake that came from RED batter!....

My 'taste testers' really liked this cake-- it has a dense crumb, and tastes more like a spice cake than anything else.  I don't know about when it was warm or at room temperature but, after being refrigerated overnight like it was, there was absolutely NO 'beet taste', but not a whole lot of chocolate flavor, either.  It is a 'keeper' recipe for us!!!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I think just 2 ounces would be plenty if you use the 60% dark chocolate).  I like to use 'chocolate chips' for this so I don't have to chop it.
• 1 cup butter, softened (divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup portions)
• 1-1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups pureed cooked beets
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

• In a microwave, melt chocolate and 1/4 cup butter; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, cream the remaining butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs.
• In a small bowl, combine the chocolate mixture, beets and vanilla.
• Beat into creamed mixture (mixture will appear separated). Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.
• Pour into a greased and floured 9x13" pan.  Bake at 350-degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (Depending on how your oven bakes, you might want to check it a bit before 35 minutes are up.)   Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar OR frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe below). 

Nutritional Facts1 serving (1 slice) equals 211 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 56 mg cholesterol, 294 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Cream together:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 oz. butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

(Personally, I think just half of this FROSTING recipe is enough for a 9x13" cake.)

There are various recipes around for beet cake-- some are very old.  I found this one on the Taste of Home website.  Another similar recipe is listed on the website of Straight From the Farm.  As I said above, this recipe is a 'keeper'!!