Stir Fry Sauce

This went into a stir fry of frozen edamame and peas, fresh broccoli and green beans, served over brown rice.

1/2 cup water or veg broth
3 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon Mirin
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 shallot, diced

In a small bowl, combine the water/stock with the tamari, cornstarch slurry, vinegar and sesame oil.
In a medium saucepan, heat the sunflower oil until shimmering. Add the ginger, garlic and shallot and cook over high heat, stirring, until fragrant and golden. Add the frozen veg, if using. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. Add the stock mixture and boil over high heat until thickened and glossy, about 1 minute. Add fresh vegetables and stir fry a few more minutes until al dente.

Juicer Sweetbread

Now that we are juicing we have a steady supply of fruit and vegetable pulp that V, who I think has internalized my distain for wasting food, does not like to see thrown out. Perhaps this will turn us into composters at long last, but in the meantime I decided to make a "sweet bread" out of the leftover bits.

2 cups (270 grams) fruit/veg pulp from juicer (for example, I had a mixture of carrot, apple, beet and ginger)
2 cups (260 grams) spelt flour
3/4 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3.5 grams) salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) (optional)
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (180 ml) sunflower oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Place paper liners in 12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Stir in the coconut if using. Set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla extract. Fold the wet ingredients, along with the fruit and veg pulp, into the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (If making into one loaf in a loaf pan, cooking time is 45-55 minutes.)

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 10 minutes remove the muffins from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Makes 12 standard-sized muffins.

Teff Peanut Butter Cookies

Having never baked with teff before, I made these cookies strictly by the book, or, by the package, as it were. The Bob's Red Mill bag of whole grain teff flour featured this recipe for cookies, and, since dairy and gluten free J was itching for something sweet today, and since I am always itching for something sweet, I thought wed give em a try. I was skeptical to say the least. No egg and no sugar? Also, I expected a somewhat sour taste like the teff-infused injera bread I've had at Ethiopian restaurants. Well, the sourness is no doubt the yeast or starter for the injera, because teff by itself, while hearty and dense, is delicious. I almost added some chocolate chips to this-- for insurance purposes-- but J refused. I'm glad he did because they baked up yummily without it. Though I am tempted to experiment now... teff brownies, anyone? The one thing is that they are crumbly, so once one starts to handle a teff cookie, one better devour it quickly!

1 1/2 c teff flour
1/2 t sea salt
1/ c maple syrup
1/2/ c sunflower oil
1 t vanilla
1 c peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside an ungreased cookie sheet. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Set aside. In a food processor blend syrup, oil , vanilla, and peanut butter. Add the wet ingredients tot he dry ingredients. Blend well. Shape dough into walnut sized balls. Place on cookie sheet and flatten gently with the tines of a fork. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Yields 24 cookies.

Viv's sugarfee birthday cupcakes

Sugarfree experiment #2 yielded a winner. I was a little worried because the batter looked kind of rubbery, but the texture of the cupcakes once they were baked was moist and cakey. Not sure what I'm going to frost them with yet, or if I'll frost them. Maybe I'll just top hers with a strawberry.

1 cup unbleached white flour, less 1 tablespoon
1/4 tablespoon arrowroot
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 c sunflower oil
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1/8 c milk
2 eggs
½ tsp organic vanilla extract

Preheat the over to 325 degrees. Measure the 1 cup flour, then remove 1/4 tablespoon of flour and replace it with the 1/4 tablespoon arrowroot. Mix flour, salt, arrowroot, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine oil, milk, vanilla, rice syrup, and eggs. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Pour batter into silicone cupcakes cups (don't require greasing). Bake for 28 minutes. Makes 9 cupcakes.

Pumpkin Muffins

Pregnancy and then breastfeeding has really cranked up my sweet tooth for the past 2 years, but now that Viv is wanting to eat everything off of my plate I've decided to bake without sugar so she doesn't get conditioned to have a big sweet tooth from an early age.
Since I've found a local supply of date syrup I'm experimenting with this and rice syrup and agave nectar as sugar replacements.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c date syrup
1/4 c brown rice syrup
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, date and rice syrups, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly.

3 Pour into muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes for small, silicone cups; 30 minutes for large muffins in muffin tin pan.

Makes 8 large muffins or a dozen small.

Verdict: Cut the allspice next time because the date syrup already lends it that smoky flavor. Try the agave in place of the rice syrup next time for more sweetness? They aren't decadently sweet, but moist and spicy and perfectly tasty.

UPDATE 10.2.09: I used 1 full cup of date syrup and no rice syrup; canned sweet potato instead of pumpkin; and omitted the allspice altogether. Much more dense and rich tasting as a result. J even thought they were chocolate muffins.