Berry Pudding Cake

I really like pies, especially strawberry rhubarb pie. However, pies require some effort to make and even more waiting time while they bake and cool. Often when I want a dessert, I want it now. . . or at least within an hour of starting to make it. So I was looking for a new dessert that would contain strawberries and rhubarb and be just as tasty as a pie, but that would be much simpler and faster. Then I came across a recipe for berry pudding cake. I tried it, and it's my new favorite berry dessert. Michael liked it well enough that he was willing to help with taste-testing, three times over the past couple of weeks. We had to try the cake with strawberries and rhubarb, just strawberries, and rhubarb and blueberries. I wouldn't want to suggest a berry combination without knowing if it would taste good, right? All three were great, so just use whatever kind of berries is in season, or you can even use frozen berries. I used some blueberries that I had frozen from last summer, and the cake turned out just as good. The original recipe calls for orange zest, but I decided to use lemon since we really like the combination of lemon and fruit.

Berry Pudding Cake
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 2 packed cups of fresh berries (like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or sliced strawberries -- for strawberries it equals 16 oz.) OR 1 packed cup of berries and 1 cup of rhubarb (about 1 to 2 stalks, depending on their size)
• 1/2 cup and 1 or 2 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn. Recently I have been using Rodelle Vanilla Flavor alcohol free all natural extract, which I found at Stop and Shop.
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8" Pyrex pan lightly with olive oil. Rinse the berries and rhubarb. If using strawberries, cut the tops off and cut them into slices. If using rhubarb, cut the ends off the stalks, cut the stalks in half length-wise, and then cut them width-wise into 1/4"-wide pieces. (If you cut them thicker than this, they may end up still crunchy at the end of the baking time.) If using tart berries or rhubarb, place all of the fruit in a medium bowl and toss with 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar. Then transfer the berries to the Pyrex pan and spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Zest the lemon and set aside. In a second medium bowl add the sugar, vanilla extract, olive oil, lemon zest, and eggs. Whisk for 1 minute, until the egg mixture is lighter in color and frothy. Then whisk in the flour mixture until just combined. Carefully pour the batter over the fruit. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before serving. If you would like, you can serve the cake with powdered sugar. (Most powdered sugar contains corn, so we just ate the cake without it.)

Red Cabbage and Carrot Salad

For a while I've been playing around with a cold red cabbage salad. The problem at first was that when I just marinated the red cabbage in the vinaigrette, the cabbage stayed quite tough and hard to chew, even when shredded thinly. Then I found out about the technique of soaking shredded cabbage in salt water before marinating it. The difference was amazing. After soaking and then marinating, the cabbage had just the right amount of firmness and chew. (The salt water also works to kill any small bugs or other living organisms hiding out in the cabbage, but I don't like to think about that aspect too much.)

Regarding the marinade, I discovered over time that a combination of red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar worked best with the flavor of the red cabbage. I use 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon of balsamic, but if you prefer your vinaigrette a little sweeter, you could try reversing the amounts. I don't add any sugar and instead use grated carrot and raisins or craisins to provide a bit of sweetness to the salad.

Red Cabbage and Carrot Salad
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. (1/2 lb.) red cabbage
• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 medium or 2 small carrots
  
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
  
• 1/4 cup raisins or craisins

Instructions:

Cut the red cabbage into thin shreds. Place the shredded cabbage in a medium bowl and add enough cold water to cover the cabbage. Stir in the kosher salt and let sit on the counter for 15 minutes. While the cabbage is soaking, peel the carrots and grate them using the large holes on a grater. Set the carrot aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, and canola oil.

After the cabbage has soaked for 15 minutes, drain it in a colander and rinse it thoroughly with cold water. Transfer the cabbage back to the medium bowl. Stir in the grated carrot and toss with the vinaigrette. Cover with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes, but preferably 1 hour. Right before serving stir in the raisins or craisins.

Banana Baked Oatmeal with Chocolate Chips

Since the girls and I like baked oatmeal so much, and it's an easy breakfast to make on mornings when they both have to get ready for school, I wanted to come up with another version. I thought I would try my hand at baked oatmeal with banana, and what goes better with banana than chocolate? Michael said it tasted too good to be called breakfast, but then he tried to eat the rest of my serving. From now on, whenever I have a ripe banana that needs to be eaten, I'm going to make this baked oatmeal. And I should probably wait until I have two ripe bananas, so there will be enough oatmeal for Michael to have some, too.

Banana Baked Oatmeal with Chocolate Chips
serves 2 adults, or 1 adult and 2 small children

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 medium banana). It's important to get exactly 1/2 cup. If the banana is a bit too small, make up the difference with almond milk. And don't try to use more than 1/2 cup, otherwise the oatmeal will be gooey.
  
• 2 Tbsp. almond milk
  
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 3 Tbsp. almond milk
• 1/2 Tbsp. flax seed meal. I use Bob's Red Mill brand.
  
• dash of sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn. Recently I have been using Rodelle Vanilla Flavor alcohol free all natural extract, which I found at Stop and Shop.
• 2 Tbsp. dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips. The two kinds I use that do not contain milk fat are Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Instructions:

The night before, mash the banana using a fork or food chopper. Measure out 1/2 cup of banana. If you don't have quite enough to fill the measuring cup, make up the difference with a bit of almond milk. Pour the banana into a small bowl. Add the oats, 2 Tbsp. almond milk, and lemon juice. Stir, cover with a plate or plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and stir in the brown sugar, canola oil, 3 Tbsp. almond milk, flax seed meal, sea salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract. Then stir in the chocolate chips. Pour a little more than 1/2 cup of the oat mixture into each of two 7-ounce ramekins. Place the ramekins in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before serving.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

I've been trying to find simple dessert recipes that don't require too many ingredients. And I needed to use up some ripe bananas sitting on my counter. When I stumbled across the following recipe, I thought it might be just the thing. It was! The cookies turned out great even with my modifications. These cookies are not your typical chewy or crunchy cookie -- instead, they're more like a soft-baked cookie or even a brownie in consistency. And they're close to bite-size, which means you can eat several, and then go back for just one more. Another version I found includes chopped dried dates, which I might try sometime if I remember to buy some dates.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites
makes about 20 to 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/4 cup of oats
• 3 Tbsp. flax seed meal. I used Bob's Red Mill brand.
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup of mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium bananas)
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn. Recently I have been using Rodelle Vanilla Flavor alcohol free all natural extract, which I found at Stop and Shop.
• 1/2 cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips. The two kinds I use that do not contain milk fat are Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food chopper, briefly chop the 1 and 1/3 cup oats and pour them into a large bowl. Add the 1/4 cup of oats to the food chopper and chop them until they are finely ground. Pour the ground oats into the large bowl. Add the flax seed meal, cinnamon, sea salt, and baking soda, and stir all of the dry ingredients to combine.

Peel the bananas and cut them into 1/2-inch wide rounds. Place these banana pieces in the food chopper and chop until the banana is completely pureed. Measure out 1 cup of mashed banana and pour it into a medium bowl. (If your two bananas do not equal 1 cup, you can make up the difference with some unsweetened applesauce.) Add the canola oil and vanilla extract to the bananas and stir to combine.

Pour the banana mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips. Then place tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet. (I used a cookie dough scoop, which measures a little more than 1 tablespoon per cookie. The original recipe says to measure about 2 tsp. of dough per cookie.) If you would like, you can press down slightly on the balls of dough.

Bake the cookies for about 14 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. Remove the sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.