pumpkin muffins

makes 24:

3c whole wheat flour
1c sugar (the less processed kind; organic, demerarra, etc)
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 c rolled oats
1 1/2c wheat germ OR ground flax OR a combo of both
1 1/3c soy milk
2 eggs
1/2c light olive oil
2c pumpkin
1c raisins

bake at 400 for about 20 mins

heavenly carrot-zucchini muffins

i am blessed to take a natural cooking class with another "healthy homes for jewish families" mom, yael leah. wednesday she made a gorgeous carrot muffin in the class. i based this recipe on hers.

2c white whole wheat flour
2c ground mixed nuts (costco, yahoo!)
2/3c ground flax seeds
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp pumpkin spice (clove, nutmeg, cinnamon)
1/2c coconut oil  **
1c olive oil
6 tbsp agave nectar   **
2c natural sugar **
4 eggs
2c shredded carrots
2c shredded zucchini

** her recipe called for more coconut oil. since i was doubling it, that became prohibitively expensive for me.

** yael leah says she does not like agave nectar, for whatever her reasons (she did not divulge them in the class, and since i am basing this recipe on hers, i feel compelled to share her opinions). HER recipe called for maple syrup, an ingredient i didn't have at the time.

** yael leah's recipe called for date or coconut sugar, an ingredient i also didn't have at the time.

this recipe accidentally became a carrot-zucchini one. as i said, the original recipe called for just carrots. but since i was doubling the recipe, i was getting tired of peeling all those carrots! i decided to use zucchini instead! it worked beautifully. another thing that yael leah (trained natural foods cook) did was mix her wet and dry ingredients separately, and then incorporate them closer to the end. i just threw everything into a bowl and mixed like crazy. put into 24 sprayed muffin tins and baked at 350 for about 25 mins. i made these muffins late this afternoon and now there are only 7 muffins left. they were devoured! :-)

st-RAW-berry pie

hadassah h. made this for a n'shei chabad event, and you bet i made sure to get the recipe!

2c mixed nuts

2c raisins

1c pitted dates

1 small lemon

6c strawberries

chop up nuts in food procesor. not too fine, coarse and crumbly. add the raisins into the spinning food processor so they get ground up with the nuts. firmly press raisin-nut mixture into pie pan/plate, pressing it up the sides. put pan into freezer and continue to prepare. you should have some extra raisin-nut mix, put this to the side.

cut dates in half and check them, and then soak them in about 1c of water for 10 mins.

drain water out from the dates and puree them with 2 c strawberries in food processor. juice one small lemon into puree as processor spins. take pie plate out of freezer and then pour the puree into it. 

halve/check the remaining 4c strawberries and arrange them into the puree. arrange some of them facing up, down, etc, make it creative and pretty. i needed to add more strawberries because my pie plate is a little larger. 

what i ended up doing in pushing the side-crust down flat on top of the strawberries to create a nice crust "border" around the pie plate. i also used some of the remaining raisin-nut mix and pressed some of that along the sides too, to add some extra "border." (see picture i posted on facebook.) i sprinkled coconut shreds along the border for a pretty touch and taste, but it isn't necessary.

i made this on thursday and refrigerated it, which i recommend. all the ingredients get cold and firm! i served it on shabbos day and it was a total hit! the whole thing got eaten up!

oatmeal cookies

disclaimer: one reader had tried my "luscious banana cake" and tried to duplicate it based on the recipe i posted. i usually bake in volume, and i have been scaling down my baking recipes when i post them online. but i found out - through my reader, an experienced natural cook herself - that it didn't work well. oftentimes when i make a recipe, when i double or triple it, i can use different types of sweeteners, flours, etc. this doesn't translate so well when i post the recipe as a "single" portion. so now i am going to post my recipes AS I MAKE THEM and if YOU, the reader, choose to scale it down, gezunter heit. :-)

oatmeal cookies (loosely based on a recipe from "the happy go lucky vegan"):

6c rolled oats

1c whole wheat flour

1c ground flax

1c wheat germ **

2 1/4c shredded coconut

3 tbsp cinnamon

3 large pinches sea salt

3/4c honey

3/4c brown rice syrup

3/4c agave nectar

1c olive oil

1/2c toasted sesame oil

3 tsp vanilla extract

3c natural puffed cereal (i used a puffed rice/millet combo)

** 1c of the dry mix could very nicely be substituted with carob or cocoa

roll into nice size balls and bake for about 7 mins at 350. voila! yum!

rice crispy treats

to make these treats even easier, i mixed this up right into the 9x13 pan. it's a "one bowl wonder!" lol

4c natural brown rice cereal (i used whole food's 365 brand)

1/2 c brown rice syrup

1/2 c NON-HYDROGENATED nut butter (i used peanut, but i'm thinking tahini might be nice too!)

* marshmallows optional, i used them. i have never found a "healthy" kosher marshmallow but there are some that are better than others. read labels. i just threw in enough marshmallows that everything looked "even," lol

mush it all up and flatten into an olive-oil-sprayed 9x13. stick in freezer for about 20 mins to solidify.  this recipe is quick, easy, and more nutritious than the regular version!

p.s. i tagged this as "vegan" but it is ONLY vegan if you don't use the kosher marshmallows (fish gelatin)

luscious banana cake

i got this recipe from my new favorite blog, but since i modified it, i am posting my version here. my kids went gangbusters over this all shabbos! PLUS i got rid of lots of leftover pesach bananas! yay me!

1/2c whole wheat flour
1/2c oat flour
1/2c ground flax seeds
1/2c cornmeal (this made it special!)
2 tsp baking powder (i use rumford's aluminum-free)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2c soy milk
1/4c apple juice
1/4c brown rice syrup **
4 over-ripe bananas, mashed
1/3c applesauce (i used a granny smith tart applesauce)
1/3c melted earth balance marge

throw everything into a bowl, mix mix mix, pour into a 9x13 and bake at 350 until you can stick a fork in it (about 45 mins to an hour i guess).

** i quadrupled this recipe because i had lots of leftover bananas and i was also baking for someone else. i varied the sweeteners under the circumstances. so my quadrupled version ended up with something like; 1/2c brown rice syrup, 1/4c agave nectar, 1/4c honey

gumbo popcorn balls

just like gumbo, they have a little bit of everything:

one big ol' bowl of popcorn
365 chocolate bits (whole foods house brand)
chatfield's carob powder
elyon mini marshmallows (heimish brand)
365 sunflower seed kernels
flax-USA ground flax seed
*kirkland signature honey (costco house brand)
*lundberg brown rice syrup

* you could use a non-hydrogenated nut butter in place of either the honey or rice syrup, that would lend a chocolate-peanut buttery taste. if you use a nut butter, add some salt to jazz it up.

dump everything into the big ol' popcorn bowl and make sure all the ingredients are relatively "even." at the end, drizzle copious amounts of the honey and brown rice syrup all over everything until it's nice and saturated. then form into little balls - squeeze your hands together tight! make those suckers stick together! place on cookie sheets and freeze. YUMMY. tastes just like nutty chews (only healthier)!