Cheesecake Brownies (gluten free)

May 30, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Cheesecake Brownies

I was going to swirl brownies but it ended up being simple layers, still delicious. Fudgy brownie layer with cheesecake on top. What could be better? This makes 9 decadent little squares. They may look small but they are rich and satisfying. We served them to my mother-in-law for her birthday and she was very pleased.

Ingredients

Brownie Batter

  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons light tasting olive oil
  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • 9 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup coconut flour

Cheesecake Batter

  • 8 oz, cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • One large egg, beaten
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. Prepare an 8 by 8 baking pan with cooking spray or butter.
  3. Cut the butter into tablespoon cubes in a medium plastic or glass mixing bowl, and melt in the microwave on 50% power for about 1 ½ to 2 minutes.
  4. Stir in the olive oil.
  5. Whisk the maple syrup into the butter.
  6. Add the eggs and beat.
  7. Gently stir the cocoa powder into until dissolved.
  8. Add the vanilla.
  9. Sift and stir in the coconut flour until just mixed.
  10. Pour into the prepared pan.
  11. In another glass or plastic mixing bowl, cut the cream cheese into tablespoon chunks.
  12. Pour the maple syrup over the cream cheese.
  13. Soften in the microwave on 50% power for 1 ½ to 2 minutes.
  14. Use a large whisk or spoon to beat the cream cheese and maple syrup smooth.
  15. Add the vanilla and egg.
  16. Pour over the brownie batter.
  17. Bake for 35 minutes.
  18. Allow to cool at least 1 hour.
  19. These are good warm, but even better fully chilled.

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The Friday Poem: White Rabbit Deadlines

May 28, 2021 at 6:00 am (Poetry)

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The Sunday Recipe: Simple Waldorf Salad

May 23, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Simple Waldorf Salad

This is a basic recipe based on the old Betty Crocker one. I remember having Waldorf salad as a side dish on special occasions as a kid. It was one of my favorites. It has probably gone out of fashion but I think it’s time to revive it in my house. The Betty Crocker recipe calls for serving it on lettuce, but I like to just use it as a fruit side dish or snack.

The basis for this dish is simply apples, celery, and pecans with a dressing of prepared mayo, lemon, and milk. I was going to use Granny Smith apples because we used tart Northern Spy apples when I was growing up, but it called for red apples and I happened to have some Snapdragon on hand so I used that. I almost added two chopped Granny Smith because I tend to like things lightly dressed and this made a lot of dressing, but I just went with it for this time.

I toast my pecans for things like this in the toaster oven. I use the lightest setting and make sure the pecans are whole and ridges up. You can also toast them in a hot pan on the stove for just a few minutes, moving them around with a spoon to keep them from burning. Or, you could just use them as is.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup mayonnaise (I prefer Hellman’s vegan mayonnaise or Just Mayo, which are both egg free.)
  • 1 tablespoon almond milk (or whatever milk you prefer.)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup pecan halves (I measured 1 ½ ounces or 44 grams, then toasted them.)
  • 2 stalks of celery, cleaned and diced
  • 2 red apples

Directions

  1. Toast your pecans however you like then set aside to cool.
  2. Mix together the mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice in a small dish.
  3. Dice the celery and place in a medium bowl.
  4. Break or chop the pecan halves. I like to have fairly large chunks so I usually break or chop a pecan down the middle then each half into 3 pieces. Dump in with the celery.
  5. Stir in the dressing.
  6. Core, and dice apples. I like to cut the apple in half down the middle, notch each end to take out a little triangle and then use the tip of my knife to take the very center, where the seeds are, out. Lay the cut side down on the cutting board and cut from top to bottom down the center. Then cut each of those quarters you created in half lengthwise. Now you can slice across all four sections, making nice quarter inch bite size pieces. Mix the apple into the dressing as you finish each half apple, to prevent browning.
  7. Refrigerate until ready to use.

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The Friday Poem: My Mind Wanders

May 21, 2021 at 6:00 am (Poetry)

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The Sunday Recipe: Chocolate Coconut Cake

May 16, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Chocolate Coconut Cake

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour (105 grams)
  • 6 tablespoons or 30 grams cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 large eggs (I used 1 jumbo and 1 small from our hens)
  • ½ cup coconut milk (I used full fat but the fat had congealed and I didn’t blend it so it would be the equivalent of light, I imagine)
  • ¼ cup coconut oil, in it’s liquid state
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup boiling coffee (Hot water works fine too.)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep a 9 by 9 baking pan. (I prefer a glass dish.)
  2. When working with coconut, it seems to be particularly important to make sure everything is warmed up to room temp. This is easy enough to do with the aid of a little tap water and the microwave. Put the eggs in hot tap water for just 10 minutes. Warm the coconut oil on 30% power for 2 minutes. If you keep your maple syrup in the fridge, as we do, you can also warm that on 30% power for 2 minutes.
  3. Sift together the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Whisk the eggs in a bowl.
  5. Beat in the coconut milk.
  6. Mix in the maple syrup.
  7. Mix in the coconut oil.
  8. Add the vanilla extract.
  9. Mix in the dry ingredients. (This will get very thick, very quickly.)
  10. Stir in the hot coffee or water.
  11. Pour into the prepared baking pan.
  12. Bake for 30 minutes or until a sharp knife or tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  13. Cool and enjoy. (Some whipped coconut cream is perfect with this.)

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The Friday Poem: Haiku 5/13/2021

May 14, 2021 at 6:00 am (Poetry)

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The Sunday Recipe: Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream

May 9, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Last summer I made coconut milk ice cream but the recipe called for using raw eggs. Well, my daughter and I both got very sick with what seemed like Salmonella poisoning. I decided to try again but follow the directions for a cooked custard vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

  • 2 cans coconut milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, stir the coconut milk gently but continuously until all solids have dissolved and the mixture is steaming, but not boiling.
  2. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Separate the eggs and refrigerate the egg whites for another recipe.
  4. Whisk or stir the egg yolks and maple syrup together.
  5. Drizzle the warm coconut milk into the egg yolk and maple mixture while stirring vigorously to temper the eggs.
  6. Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring continuously, until steaming.
  7. Continue to heat for another five minutes, stirring to prevent scorching on the bottom. (If you start to seeing boiling, remove from heat immediately.)
  8. (If you have a candy thermometer, you can check to make sure the mixture reaches 160, but if you keep stirring for five minutes after it starts to steam, you’re pretty safe.)
  9. Remove from heat and mix in the vanilla and salt.
  10. Cool then refrigerate for about 8 hours.
  11. Freeze according to ice cream freezer directions or place into a shallow dish and into the freezer for several hours, stirring once an hour until it firms up.
  12. I found two containers from take out food worked pretty well for this and were easy to scoop out of when the ice cream was frozen.

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The Friday Poem: Solutions

May 7, 2021 at 6:00 am (Poetry)

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The Sunday Recipe: Peach Cobbler with Coconut Flour

May 2, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Peach Cobbler with Coconut Flour

This is a nice simple cobbler based on an apple dutch baby. I found the coconut flour created more of a cobbler that stayed on top, and we’ve been eating it that way ever since. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, just use a spoon. I used one jar of Dole peach slices in juice, drained, for the peaches, but frozen or fresh should work just as well. I have just laid them out in the pan, but this time I tried dicing them for ease of serving. I don’t think it made a big difference, to be honest.

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups of peaches, diced
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 cup coconut flour

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Spray or grease a deep-dish pie plate or a 9 by 9 deep casserole.
  3. Melt the butter in the dish in the microwave then tilt the dish around to cover the bottom of the dish and up the sides with butter.
  4. Dump the peaches into the prepared dish.
  5. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. (You can use honey or even sugar if you prefer.)
  6. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.
  7. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs.
  8. Add in the milk.
  9. Sieve the coconut flour with the salt, to remove any lumps.
  10. Stir the flour and salt into the milk and eggs, working quickly as it will thicken very fast.
  11. Drop by spoon or cookie scoop onto the peaches.
  12. Flatten a little.
  13. Bake for 30 minutes.
  14. Allow to cool before serving with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

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