Bkfst/Bread/Muffins

It has only been a few months since I realized how delicious carrot cake is! It is quite an interesting concept- carrots in a cake?? Who ever thought of that!? Now, you may be wondering how carrot cake can have a “healthy” twist- “just because there are carrots in it doesn’t make it healthy.” Well, you would be absolutely right! But, what would you say if I told you this recipe takes out 75% of the oil amount- decreasing the calories by 1,560 and the fat amount by 126 grams- and replacing the oil with PUMPKIN! Yes, pumpkin! Not only does substituting the pumpkin for the oil make this cake a lot healthier, it also makes it so moist that I don’t think you will ever go back to using the full oil amount. Feeling a little iffy about this pumpkin switch…I guess you will just have to bake it (and eat it, of course) to believe it 🙂 But, this has become my husband’s favorite dessert, even with knowing the healthy substitute!!

What You Need:

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

3/4 Cup Sugar

4 Eggs

2 Cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 TBS Cinnamon

3/4 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Oil

1 cup + 1/4 cup Pumpkin

2 cups Grated Carrots

FROSTING

1/4 cup Butter

1/2 stick (1/2 cup) Cream Cheese

Scant 2 cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 TBS Milk (Add more as needed)

The How-To:

1. Add all the ingredients except for the carrots into a kitchen aid bowl and mix. [Take out your butter and cream cheese to soften for the frosting]

2. Grate carrots. [If you have a newer Kitchen Aid, I would highly recommend this grater attachment! We received it as a wedding gift and have loved using it for grating cheese, carrots and …

Pumpkins are everywhere! Pumpkin yummy treats are everywhere as well. Since I absolutely LOVE everything FALL including everything that tastes or smells of pumpkin, I decided to write about a few of my new pumpkin obsessions. I started by baking a batch of Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies this week. I love to bake pumpkin scones and this season I am working on a Gluten Free Pumpkin Scone recipe. I made this one a few days ago and delivered a batch to a precious friend who is recovering from surgery. I will post the recipe I tried and modify it in the near future. (The first batch was a bit too crumbly)

Gluten Free Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients
¾ cup gluten free oat flour
¾ cup almond meal flour
¼ cup coconut flour
2 cups oats
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice ( my favorite is from Trader Joe’s)
(you can use 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg)
1 Tablespoon butter softened
⅓ cup coconut oil melted
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 Tablespoon fresh grated orange rind
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar (to sprinkle on top of scones before you bake them)

Mix oat flour, almond meal, coconut flour, oats, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Combine butter and coconut oil and add to dry ingredients. Cut in until mixture is crumbly. Mix maple syrup, pumpkin, grated ginger, grated orange peel and egg together and fold into mixture in large bowl. Do not handle dough very much so scones will be light and not tough. Form into circles about 3 inch biscuit shape. Makes 8 or 9 scones. (You can also shape …

We are settling into the Fall season and the leaves are beginning to turn beautiful colors. Hopefully by now I have made my annual trip up to Placerville to celebrate the beginning of Harvest time by spending a day at Apple Hill. I love the smells, the sights, the tastes and the sounds. Every one of my senses gets a dose of Autumn when I spend a day on Apple Hill. If you have never been up to Apple Hill it is a must-do adventure. Take the whole family and spend the day. Saturdays and Sundays are really crowded so if possible go early in the season. I typically buy bushels of apples for my annual Apple Butter making day with my good friend Sally. This year, in addition to my apple butter making endeavor, I am going to try to bake many new apple treats that I modify to make healthier options-some even gluten-free. Here is my first try (for a gluten free option, use almond meal flour combined with gluten free rice flour or quinoa flour)

1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
¾ cup coconut sugar (brown sugar)
¾ cup honey
¼ cup butter softened
¼ cup coconut oil
1 egg
2 egg whites
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups chopped granny smith apples (2 medium apples)
1 ½ cups chopped red apples (2 medium apples)
1 cup chopped pitted dates
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl combine sugar, honey, butter and coconut oil and beat …

The seasons are changing. For some of us, that means dropping weather, changing leaves, and warm soups and stews. For others (like us in So Cal), we aren’t experiencing much of a weather change yet and may not for a while! It was 103º, feels like 107º today. Ha. But, here is a bruschetta recipe for either experience, one that can be made as a cold or hot appetizer.

What You Need:

1 Loaf of Whole Wheat French Bread

4 Tomatoes

2 TBS, 2 tsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Balsamic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Sliced Mozzarella Cheese (For the Hot Bruschetta)…