Oh, Yummy Judaism.

Yesterday, Dan and I celebrated Rosh Hashanah with a very yummy Jewish Apple Cake. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah is, in its simplest terms, the Jewish New Year. The holiday is a celebration of a new beginning, and certain foods, such as apples and honey, are consumed for good luck.

Since I have been with Dan, I have been making him this cake to mark the commencement of the new year. The bonus? It’s healthy, too! And it makes your kitchen smell absolutely delish. So, here it is — it’s as tasty as it is pretty! And, hey, you don’t have to be Jewish to fall in love with this cake. (;

Jewish Apple Cake

Pre-baking ... beautiful, huh?

Makes 16 servings
Ingredients
* Cooking spray
* 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup sweetened applesauce
* 1/2 cup orange juice
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
* 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 large egg whites
* 2 large eggs
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 1/2 cups sliced peeled apple (about 1 pound)
* 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
* 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
* 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Set prepared pan aside. Beat granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (sugar through eggs) at medium speed of a mixer until blended. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Combine apple and remaining ingredients. Spoon half of batter into prepared pan. Top with half of apple mixture. Repeat with remaining batter and apple mixture. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutritional Information

Voila!

Calories:287 (21% from fat)
Fat:6.6g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.9g,poly 2.8g)
Protein:4.4g
Carbohydrate:53.6g
Fiber:1.5g
Cholesterol:29mg
Iron:2mg
Sodium:196mg
Calcium:84mg

©Cooking Light, APRIL 2000

A Day on the Run and Thai Chicken Pizza Delish!

And the 30-Day Challenge is coming to a close! . . .

So, I kicked off yesterday morning with a bowl of All Bran Strawberry Fields cereal and about 1 cup soy milk. The All Bran cereals are another one of my favorite cereals, and I think this one currently takes the cake. It’s yummy!

I had an appointment around lunchtime, so I grabbed a Special K Protein bar and a bottle of water for the car.

When I got home, I was still hungry, so I had a small bowl of whole wheat noodles with a bit of onion salt and 1 Tbsp. of Smart Balance Omega Olive Oil “butter” spread.

Dinner was a special treat — Thai Chicken Pizza! It is one of our favorite’s and Dan made a special request, so I whipped it up for him (and me, too!).

This is one of the best pizzas/recipes I have ever tried, so I, of course, have to share it with you. It’s from Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals, and it totally rocks:

Ingredients

* 1 lb pizza dough

* 1/2 cup Chinese duck sauce or plum sauce

* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

* 10 ounces provolone cheese (2 cups) or Monterey jack cheese

* 1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

* 2 tablespoons tamari

* 1 tablespoon peanut butter

* 2 teaspoons hot sauce

* 2 teaspoons grill seasoning, such as McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning

* 2 tablespoons honey

* 1/2 lb chicken breast, cutlets (about 4)

* 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

* 1/4 seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks

* 4 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

* 1 cup bean sprouts, a couple of handfuls

* Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

* 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F Form the pizza crust on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Top it with duck or plum sauce, spreading it around like you would pizza sauce. Sprinkle the pizza with some red pepper flakes, then top it with the cheese and bell peppers. Bake until golden and bubbly, 15 to 17 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, combine the vegetable oil, tamari, and peanut butter with the hot sauce and grill seasoning. Use the microwave to loosen up the peanut butter if it is too cold to blend into sauce; 10 seconds ought to do it. Coat the chicken evenly with the mixture and let it stand for 10 minutes. Preheat a grill pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken cutlets for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until firm. Slice the chicken into very thin strips.

3. While the chicken cooks, mix the honey and vinegar in a medium bowl. Add the cucumber and turn to coat in the dressing.

4. When the pizza comes out of the oven, top it with the chicken, scallions, sprouts, and cilantro. Drain the cucumbers and scatter them over the pizza. Garnish the pizza with peanuts, cut it into 8 wedges, and serve.

A few things I do differently: I use plum sauce instead of duck; I have tried the duck sauce before and, it wasn’t bad, but the plum sauce is our favorite. I also nix the cilantro (Dan does not really care for it), and take the pizza out half way through the cook time to add all of the remaining garnishes before baking for the remainder of the time. It tastes better when they have a few minutes to bake in there.

I had two medium slices and was totally stuffed. This pizza is yummy, yummy, but I only have so much room in there!

Dan and I went for a walk after dinner, — it was a perfect summer evening — and then called it a night.

Anyway, I was going to combine yesterday’s and today’s challenge meals in one big post, but this is turning into a rather long one! So, I think I will talk about today’s meals tomorrow (Wednesday), and we will also chat then about my experiences during the last 30 days.

Sound good? I am looking forward to it!

Straight from the Bakery à la Caroline!

As promised, a yummy recipe for bread. I was so excited because my bread actually turned out fabulous! Now, I used a bread machine that I pilfered from my mom, but have no fear because I have also included a recipe for those of you that need to do it by hand. And, let me tell you — next to the smell of a baby’s soft head, there is nothing like the smell of fresh bread!

Sunflower Oatmeal and Flax Whole Wheat Bread

Makes 1 1/2-lb. loaf

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup water

3 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal (rolled oats)

1 cup bread flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast

1/3 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted and hulled

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

Put all of the contents into the bread machine, and bake!! Lickety-split!

If you do not have a bread machine, that’s OK — you can also make this one by hand . . .

By hand: Knead bread flour, whole wheat flour and yeast for 8 to 10 minutes, and then place in a greased (use butter or cooking spray) bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). Uncover, knead and “punch down” the dough. Cover and let rise for another 30-45 minutes. Then, form loaf and place in a greased bread pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled (approximately 45 minutes). Begin to preheat oven halfway through this last rising stage.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes.

Tip for checking on a loaf: If you tap the top of it and hear a hollow sound, then the bread is properly cooked.

Turn pan over, remove bread, cover with a towel and cool before you slice.

Mmmm . . . ENJOY!

Veg-Heads Can Bake, Too!

Note to readers: I am not a vegetarian, but I like to learn about dietary habits of all sorts. In addition, I know I have readers who enjoy all kinds of different foods and come from various food backgrounds. Therefore, I thought I would give these muffins a try!

I love to bake and, lately, I have been reading Skinny Bitch In the Kitch: Kick Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!), a fantastic baking and cooking resource for vegans. If you have not read the prelude to this book, Skinny Bitch, you may want to give it a shot. While I don’t necessarily agree with the authors, Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, angry and get skinny-or-it’s-not-worth-living approach, there is a lot of the interesting information about governmental standards for food processing.

So, anyway, I decided to make the book’s Basic Fruit and Nut Muffins this morning and, after eating two yummy muffins, decided that it was a great recipe to share with you!

Now, as a Skinny Bitch you must decide what kind of muffins you are going to make (see below for variations). I chose the Apple Cinnamon Muffins and, although the recipe says to omit the nuts, I was feeling rebellious and added 1/2 cup slivered almonds. I also threw in a small handful of raisins — YOUR CHOICE!!

Basic Fruit and Nut Muffins

Makes 12 standard-sized muffins

1/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted, or safflower oil, plus more for greasing muffin tins (I used safflower oil.)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup Sucanat or other dry sweetener

1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer (I forgot to buy this, so I used 1/4 cup applesauce instead — another great egg replacement. 1/4 cup applesauce or 1 mashed banana or 1 tablespoon of Ener-G all equal about one egg.)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups soy milk (I used EdenBlend Original Rice & Soy.)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup fresh or dried fruit, diced or chunked if necessary (I diced about 2 small apples and threw in a bit of raisins.)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Now Choose Your Muffin…

*Apple Cinnamon Muffins:

Use apples for the fruit, omit the nuts, and add 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves to the dry ingredients.

*Cranberry Orange Muffins:

Add the zest of 1/2 orange. Use dried cranberries for the fruit and omit the nuts.

*Tropical Macadamia Nut Muffins:

Add the zest of 1/2 orange, combine banana and shredded coconut for the fruit and use macadamias for the nuts.

*Zucchini Raisin Muffins:

Combine shredded zucchini and raisins for the fruit, omit the nuts, and add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger to the dry ingredients.

Now that you have all of the ingredients, it is time to bake! :

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a standard-sized muffin tin or use muffin liners.

In a large bowl, combine the pastry flour, Sucanat, baking powder, salt and egg replacer (If you are not using Ener-G, save the egg replacer for the liquid ingredients). In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy milk, oil and vanilla. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until barely combined. Stir in the fruit and nuts, if using.

Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin tin, dividing it evenly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

And, VOILA! They should look nice and pretty, like mine:

ENJOY!!