Old Fashioned Apple & Raisin Bread Pudding

Today is a glorious day. Although it's still a little chilly out there, the sun is shining brightly and my internal batteries are getting charged as I sit in this window absorbing those lovely sunbeams. Add a hot cup of my guilty pleasure and some time to work on another blog post, I couldn't ask for a better start to the day!

After sorting and organizing my freezer last week, my mission was to use up my freezer finds and older pantry items. I'm happy to report that my mission is going well. I've tested my creativity and ingenuity for a second week with great success as demonstrated with my family's happy and satisfied tummies. My bank account is happy too!

I turned a little leftover spaghetti sauce into nifty pita pizzas using the meat sauce instead of the traditional pizza sauce. Then I topped them with some chopped zucchini, red peppers, a little grated cheddar and baked till the cheese was bubbly, a yummy invention! 

I made some amazing white bean brownies from a can of white kidney beans I had in my pantry, and as you know from my last post, my husband really enjoyed them, even after he found out about the beans! These will be made again, for sure! 

I also made my Deconstructed Cottage Pie filling with a half pound of ground beef and the mixed veggies from some recently discovered freezer finds. I had all the ingredients for my meals this week pretty much in stock so I only had to pick up a few fresh veggies for the week. Yes, shopping my freezer, fridge and pantry saved me some more cash this week too. I am definitely a happy camper!

You might recall that I found a whole bunch of frozen bread in my freezer last week. I also had some apples and eggs that needed to be used up to as well. At the time of my post, I was thinking bread pudding, which of course, is exactly what our grandmothers and their mothers before them would have made too!

Today, I would like to share that bread pudding recipe with you. This recipe is not the rich, drenched in cream recipe that bread pudding has become in many modern chef repertoires, but a little more like what my great Grannie would have made. Although this recipe was a little more frugal, it was tasty, and even felt a little decadent. In the end, it still satisfied that call for a sweet ending after dinner and made use of on hand ingredients. 

Here is a pic of the odds and ends I had of frozen bread. I usually hang on to the bread to make bread crumbs, but apparently, I haven't been using a lot of bread crumbs lately!

Old Fashioned Apple Raisin Bread Pudding

Cube enough stale bread or your freezer finds. White, whole wheat, multigrain, sprouted or even buns all work well. There should be enough cubed bread to generously fill a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. It should be gently heaped. 

Originally, I thought I might have enough cubed bread to make a 9 x 13 and an 8 x 8 pan of bread pudding, but after completing the preparation, I only had enough for a 9 x 13 pan. Sometimes cooking is not an exact science!

In a large bowl, combine the eggs and milk whisking thoroughly. Add the cinnamon, grated nutmeg, both sugars and vanilla (extract or ground beans). 

Add all of the bread and stir to coat all cubes. Stir in melted butter, raisins, and diced apple. The bread will float for awhile but it will eventually soak up the custard and sink. This should take about 15 minutes. 

While the pudding is standing, preheat the oven to 350° F. 

Once the bread has soaked up most of the custard, gently stir the mixture to make sure the apples and raisins are distributed throughout the pudding. Then, scrape everything into a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

 

Bake for about an hour until the bread pudding is set, slightly puffed, and a golden brown colour. 

 

Remove from the oven and brush lightly with the maple syrup. 

Serve warm!

Old Fashioned Raisin and Apple Bread Pudding 

INGREDIENTS:

Stale bread; enough to generously fill a 9 x 13 inch baking pan when cubed. It should be gently heaped. If you are short stale bread, top up with lightly toasted bread. 

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 - 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

6 eggs

4 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tbsp vanilla extract or 2 tsp ground vanilla bean

3/4 cup coconut palm sugar

1/4 cup organic cane sugar

1 cup raisins

4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped in a 1/2" dice

2 tbsp maple syrup

METHOD:

Cube your bread and generously fill a 9 x 13 inch baking pan so that the bread cubes are gently heaped. 

In a large bowl, combine the eggs and milk whisking thoroughly. Add the cinnamon, grated nutmeg, both sugars and vanilla (extract or ground beans). 

Add all of the bread and stir to coat all cubes. Stir in melted butter, raisins, and diced apple. The bread will float for awhile but it will eventually soak up the custard and sink. This should take about 15 minutes. 

While the pudding is standing, preheat the oven to 350° F. 

Once the bread has soaked up most of the custard, gently stir the mixture to make sure the apples and raisins are distributed throughout the pudding. Then, scrape everything into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. 

Bake for about an hour until the bread pudding is set, slightly puffed, and a golden brown colour. 

Remove from the oven and brush lightly with the maple syrup. 

Serve warm!

My Plant Based Journey Update & Brownies

It has been 2 years now since I started my eat more plant based and whole foods journey. I have been more mindful of where my animal products come from and I try very hard to eat as ethically as I can. I buy organic veggies as often as possible, and if my budget is tight, I choose organic for the veggies that tend to be sprayed most, like peppers, greens, and celery. Although I have always believed in having veggies on my plate at every meal, I think that for the most part, I have improved the family diet. I try hard to incorporate half my plate for veggies and sometimes fruit. Salads of mixed greens, kale, and spinach grace our table 2-3 times per week, and I try to go meatless for at least half of our meals.

I would like my family to eat more plant based as don't want to make TWO meals (one for me and one for them) AND I would like to keep my grocery expenditures down - after all, plant based protein is A LOT cheaper than meat, fish and poultry. In a perfect world, getting my family to willingly eat more lentils, beans and tofu would ROCK! This is easier said than done. Normally, I have to hide plant based protein.

Sadly, most of my completely plant based meals are not successful. Sometimes, no matter how I pitch them, they are not well received and the result is "don't make that again"! Ah, the trials and tribulations of a mom dragging her family along the eat more plant-based path! 

I have had to turn to subterfuge, creativity and my secret strategy of choice... "hidden healthy". Hidden healthy has been the most successful means to sneak in plant based protein since I'm not really allowed to cook much with lentils or beans; sadly the fam is just not feeling the love!

On the flip side, I shouldn't feel too badly. I have always tried to make sure veggies were part of our meals. I know we eat way more veggies now than we did before, so that in itself is a plus! I have managed to increase some plant based protein too, now that I have come to terms with the fact that I have to hide it. Slowly, I am learning how far I can go, shhhhhhhh! We are eating a lot more greens and more regularly (some of us not so willingly, right daughter #2?) and veggies generally cover at least half our plates. 

I have had good success with reducing dairy in general, finding dairy alternatives, and when we do have dairy, I have tried to keep the the quality standards high. Because of better store bought choices and more made at home options, I have been able to reduce the preservatives and mystery chemicals in our meals. I have even managed to successfully prepare more "better for you" desserts which have been very well received; I've even cleaned up some of my traditional ones too. 

When I actually think about all the WINS vs the losses, we aren't doing too badly after all. I need to revel in my successes and accept that my journey to eat better has gone pretty well over the last two years, even while dragging the non-believers along for the ride. For every not so well received meal, I need to remember those that were. There have even been a few that have achieved "Family Favourite Status"! I am a Wellness Warrior, and the war was not won in a day!

No matter your goals... trying to eat better, eat more plant based, to drink more water, consume less sugar, eat fewer processed foods, to eat more ethically or with fewer chemicals, or even just eat more home cooked meals, remember it is a process and positive changes take time, effort and practice. You can't change it all over night and there is always that crazy learning curve!

To celebrate the changes I have made and the changes you have made or are planning to make, I think we all deserve a treat. Best of all, it's guilt free and the perfect way to incorporate some plant based protein in your loved ones diets! 

For this recipe, I used my high speed Vitamix, but I think a good brand of regular blender should work. 

Chocolate Walnut Brownies

***UPDATE! My husband still really likes these brownies, even after he made me disclose the ingredients. A big WIN for me!***

1 - 19 ounce canned white kidney beans, about 2 1/4 cups 

1 1/4 cups milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy)

1/4 cup real maple syrup

3 tsp ground vanilla bean*

1/4 packed brown sugar **

4 tbsp coconut palm sugar

1 cup cocoa

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

1 cup walnuts

INGREDIENT NOTES:

* I believe you can substitute a good quality vanilla extract, but I think you would need about 1 – 2 tablespoons for the intensity of the vanilla in this recipe. 

** these brownies are not super sweet, more bitter sweet. If you prefer a sweeter brownie, I would be inclined to add another 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp of brown sugar. I prefer the bitter sweet and like to use better choices of sweeteners whenever possible. The choice is yours, but try to keep the brown sugar to under a 3/4 of cup to keep things as guilt free as possible!

________________________________________________________________

 

Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper with one strip going one way and another strip going another. I use a tiny dot of coconut oil or lard to anchor the paper to the pan. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder whisk to combine. Set aside. 

Place rinsed and drained beans into your blender. Add the all the ingredients except the flour mixture and nuts. Blend on high until the batter is super smooth. 

Pour into a medium sized bowl making sure to scrape out as much of the chocolatey goodness as possible. 

Add the flour mixture and the walnuts. Stir to combine well. 

Scrape the batter into the prepared 9" x 9" baking pan and smooth with an offset spatula or knife. 

Bake at 350°F. for 30 to 35 minutes or until skewer or toothpick comes out clean. 

Let cool on a wire rack in in the pan for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely. I use the parchment paper as handles. 

These brownies are tasty naked, but I just happened to have a chocolate mix in my fridges made of coconut oil, maple syrup and cocoa. When this mixture is cold, it creates a lovely chocolate crust I reheated this mixture and let it cool to room temperature. I spread it all over the top of the brownies and chilled in the freezer for about 20 minutes, until the topping was hard. Then I cut the brownies into squares, ready to be enjoyed. Remember to keep your brownies in the fridge to prevent the topping from melting!

From what I remember, I used the following proportions to make my chocolate topping:

1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. cocoa
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of pink Himalayan salt

Combine these ingredients over a low heat and whisk to combine and create a smooth chocolate sauce. Let cool to room temperature before you drizzle or cover your brownies.

 

Chocolate Walnut Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
 

1 - 19 ounce canned white kidney beans, about 2 1/4 cups 

1 1/4 cups milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy)

1/4 cup real maple syrup

3 tsp ground vanilla bean*

1/4 packed brown sugar **

4 tbsp coconut palm sugar

1 cup cocoa

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

1 cup walnuts

INGREDIENT NOTES:

* I believe you can substitute a good quality vanilla extract, but I think you would need about 1 – 2 tablespoons for the intensity of the vanilla in this recipe. 

** these brownies are not super sweet, more bitter sweet. If you prefer a sweeter brownie, I would be inclined to add another 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp of brown sugar. I personally prefer the bitter sweet and like to use better choices of sweeteners whenever possible. The choice is yours, but try to keep the brown sugar to under a 3/4 of cup to keep things as guilt free as possible!

METHOD:

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder whisk to combine. Set aside.

Place rinsed and drained beans into your blender. Add the all the ingredients except the flour mixture and nuts. Blend on high until the batter is super smooth.

Pour into a medium sized bowl making sure to scrape out as much of the chocolatey goodness as possible.

Add the flour mixture and the walnuts. Stir to combine well.

Scrape the batter into the prepared 9" x 9" baking pan and smooth with an offset spatula or knife. 

Bake at 350° F. for 30 to 35 minutes or until skewer or toothpick comes out clean. 

Let cool on a wire rack in in the pan for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely. I use the parchment paper as handles.

Serve these brownies naked or add the chocolate topping. Chill in the fridge until the chocolate topping is hard. Cut into squares an enjoy. I kept my brownies in the fridge so the chocolate topping did not melt.

 

 

 

Eat In, Eat Real, On Budget & Ranch Dressing

I have always been quite frugal. As a child, I managed to keep my Christmas candy until almost Easter, my Easter candy till at least June, and my Halloween candy till Christmas. I managed this great feat not because we were given so much, but because I savoured each piece and wanted to make it last. Later, this saving thing extended to my piggy bank and ultimately to my bank account. I have always been budget conscious and not one to spend more than I made... I am a real saver, sadly, sometimes to a fault, but that is another story!

During my starving student days, I learned that cooking at home was far cheaper and better for me than eating out, despite the fact that my mom told me so, I had to discover it for myself. Stretching a dollar in the kitchen while not losing out on the quality of my meals became a badge of honour, even way back then. Now, while all grown up, with a family income far better than that of a starving student, my budget conscious self reigns supreme in my kitchen. I don't have to use a calculator while grocery shopping anymore for fear of spending more than the actual cash in my wallet, but I work diligently to stay within my budget while providing healthy meals and snack choices for my family.

Groceries are expensive and we have seen a drastic increase in the prices of real food. Sadly, a couple of red peppers, organic or not, cost more than the cardboard, sugar and chemical laden Pop Tarts in the breakfast aisle. Because my health and well being are important to me, I prefer to eat whole foods found in the perimeter of the grocery store. I buy very few processed, made for me foods, but when I do, I try to minimize the chemical additives and make sure these items have good nutrition profiles. Some of my go to products would include coconut, olive and grape seed oils, some breads, pitas and wraps, plain yogurt and a few condiments.

Given that food is becoming more expensive, I try very hard not to waste any of it. If I buy it, I want to make sure to eat it. Not wasting is one of my strategies for staying on budget. Buy it and use it, or just buy what you need. "Waste not; want not", I believe is the saying, and it is as relevant today as it was years ago when my parents used to say it to me. Mom and dad, I'm not rolling my eyes anymore!

Over the next few blog posts, I will share my favourite budget and time saving tips for eating real, not made in a factory kitchen, food. If you are the person in charge of meal making, and would like a glimpse into how I stretch a dollar in my kitchen and make time to prepare mostly real food, the next few posts are for you! Let me share my time saving and budget friendly tips with you.

My Top Tips To Eat Well and Stay on Budget - Part 1

ONE: Set A Budget
Set a monthly and weekly food budget. Your food budget is part of your variable household expenditures and the amount you set is dependant on how much of your family income is left after fixed costs like rent/mortgage, utilities, house insurance and car payment and insurance. The remainder of your monthly earnings is divided amongst variable expenses like transportation, groceries, medical/dental, clothing, entertainment/eating out and miscellaneous/other expenses like pets, charities, interests and hobbies. For more information on setting budgets, please visit my budgeting and family financial hero Gail VazOzlade. She has an excellent web site and some excellent books on balancing your budget, getting out of or staying out of debt!

While on the subject of budget, you should also get a feel for the cost of your usual grocery items. I know prices change, but getting a "feel" for how much your groceries cost will help with your budgeting process. Decide ahead of time what items need to be organic, or fair trade, or just conventionally grown/raised. Know that organic or fair trade will cost a little more, so it is important to take this into consideration. Realistically, a family of 6 will need a higher food budget than a family of 3. If you are dedicating most of your grocery dollars to real food, little to no money on take out or convenience items, you should be able to meet budget requirements if you work hard on getting the most bang for your buck by shopping the sale items, buying budget friendly foods (for example, ground beef instead of steak or house brand vs national brands for the occasional made for you products) and buying only what you need.

TWO: Know What's In Your Culinary Toolbox
Take some time to write down all the meals in your cooking repertoire. Prioritize them based on how much your family enjoys them and how long it takes to prepare. For example, the best loved and the speediest to make should be at the top of your list. You should also categorize these best loved meals based on weekend vs weekday meals, make ahead or make ahead components or super speedy (30-40 minutes, start to finish), and of course low, medium to high price points. It is also helpful to know which meals you can throw together off the top of your head. These are the meals you reserve for nights you need to be fast if you haven't got a made ahead meal or some of the components ready ahead of time and in the fridge. I have always found making a meal referencing a recipe takes a little longer to prepare than the ones I have committed to memory. If you have meals that you use a recipe for, I recommend that you copy them onto recipe cards or recipe binder and stored in one place. This will make your recipes easily accessible when you need them and assist in your planning process and during preparation time.

I do a general repertoire for breakfasts, lunches - both packed and stay at home lunches as well as snacks and desserts too. The better you know ALL the meals in your arsenal, we can call this your "culinary toolbox", the easier it will be to make your meal plans, prepare your meals and stay within budget.

THREE: Simple Can Be Better
When figuring out your meal repertoire, don't underestimate how simple meals can be satisfying and tasty. More importantly, cooking simple meals may also help keep you on point sot that you cook real food and are not tempted to order in because time is short. Healthy and satisfying meals don't have be fancy and all gourmet like on those cooking shows either, they just need to taste good and be nutritionally sound. Sometimes a simple meal of a roasted chicken leg or broiled pork chop served with two steamed veggies (at least half your plate for veggies) is all that you need. You can fancy it up a bit with a quick spice rub or condiment for the meat, perhaps some apple or cranberry sauce, or a dollop of pesto. Even some leftover gravy can make a bare bones meal feel like Sunday dinner! Don't forget, a hearty soup and sandwich or salad can be most satisfying too!

FOUR: Prepare A Weekly Meal Plan

Once you know what's in your culinary tool box, your next step is to make a meal plan for the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Create a weekly meal plan based meals in your culinary tool box AND the whole food items on sale in your grocery flyer and the items you already have in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer (always shop your pantry first!). Choose your favourite store or the store offering the MOST deals that work with your menu plan. I know some folks visit a variety of stores but I think the extra gas to drive around and value of my time to shop in a number of stores just chew away any money saved.

Below, I have prepared a sample menu plan for a week that was based on the items on sale in my favourite grocery store and the items I already have in my pantry, fridge and freezer. This allows me to put only the items I need on my list. Also, remember that your meals can be warmed up versions of a previous meal.  For example, in my Sample Meal Plan, one of the breakfasts was warmed up pancakes from a previous Sunday breakfast. I am assuming that I made a really big batch and froze enough pancakes for a quick week morning breakfast. I can also do the same for the Sunday French toast breakfast on the Sample Meal Planner. You could also make a bunch of extra pita pizzas and freeze them for a future boxed lunch for the kids too.

FIVE: Weekend Prep
Spend some time on the weekend to prep your meals or some of the components. If you have something that requires lengthy simmering like a pasta sauce or some assembly like a lasagna, or even the sauce or marinade for a stir fry or slow cooker recipe, take care of some or all the prep on the weekend. The more organized you are for the week means that meals can be put together quickly and easily so you won't feel the need to do take out or eat factory made food to simplify your life.  

Some of my examples for weekend prep include:

Plan to make a batch of easy cookies, quick bread, muffins or granola bars for the week. These are excellent in lunches and freeze well. No need to buy the icky junk in the grocery store bakery or the boxed cookies.

When I have bananas that are really spotty, I will make banana bread to freeze for the upcoming week. My family loves banana bread for a lunch or anytime snack or dessert. In fact, I think my family ignores the fresh bananas on purpose, just so I will make it!

Making sauces, marinades and condiments like apple or cranberry sauces or pesto ahead is a great time saver. For instance, I like to make my stir fry sauce and store it in one of my many 500 mL mason jars. This way, all I need to do is give it a shake and pour it into my stir fry! Who needs bottled sauces? Sorry VH!

I often make a batch of my favourite spaghetti sauce and then transfer the finished sauce to a plastic container or a 750 mL mason jar. If refrigerator space is tight and spaghetti isn't on the menu until Thursday or so, I will often freeze my sauce. If you decide to do this kind of thing with your make ahead meals, make sure you allow for the appropriate head space in your freezer containers, especially if you are using jars. I generally leave at least 1.5 inches to prevent the jars from breaking.




My family loves a Canadian Living recipe for Slow Cooker Pulled Pork which I serve on top of brown rice instead of a bun. As an aside, slow cookers are another great way to make sure you eat home cooked meals. Is there anything better than coming home to the smell of dinner already cooking? Anyway, the recipe has a sauce which I prepare and refrigerate in a mason jar.  In the morning, I do a quick sear on the meat (if I have time, but it's not critical in my opinion), pour some sauce in the slow cooker, plop the meat in and smother with the rest of the sauce. I use wide mouth jars so I can get a rubber spatula in to scrape out every bit of sauce. 10 minutes in the morning, and dinner will almost be ready when I get home! Make the rice, chop the raw veggies garnish and prep my steamed green veggie and dinner is on the table in 30-40 minutes (faster if I've cooked the rice on the weekend!).

If a soup is on the menu, I make it on the weekend and store it in a glass jar. Then all I have to do is warm up the soup and whip up the side - maybe a sandwich or salad and biscuits! "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy"!

Pictured below is a sample dinner of broccoli soup (made in advance and warmed up) with a little cheddar cheese, a mixed green salad with strawberries, sliced almonds and a little goat cheese (I freeze smaller chunks of goat cheese to thaw and use as a salad garnish), and some seasoned cheese drop biscuits (measure the dry ingredients on the weekend and store in a sealed container for when you need it).








I try to have a salad at least twice a week with dinner. Greens, organic if you can, are so good for you! Add extras like red pepper, grated carrot or not! Even a handful of raisins, dried cranberries or some fresh fruit make the salad a little more special. I also find the addition of dried or fresh fruit helps to encourage the kids to eat their greens!

I haven't purchased bottled dressing in over a year now because I have found that with the right recipe, homemade is so much better. To make it a little more convenient, I make up a couple kinds and store them in my mason jars. It only takes about 5 minutes per dressing and then you have the convenience of ready made that tastes a whole lot better with fewer or no chemical additives. WIN-WIN-WIN, hurrah!

Homemade Ranch Recipe

My husband and youngest are big fans of Ranch Dressing. This being the case, Ranch Dressing was the first dressing I worked on. The catch was to make it "taste" as close as possible to the Kraft version to appease the taste buds of my fussy teen. I've come pretty darn close. You will see that I use store bought mayo in this recipe, but it is something I have not been brave enough to try, especially since it requires raw eggs. Perhaps one day I will give it a go. I also use plain organic 2% to 3.5% fat organic yogurt. I find it makes for a lovely dressing and also some amazing homemade fruit yogurt cups for lunch.

I store the dressing in my 500 mL mason jars and pour from them too at serving time. If you want to make serving time a little more pretty, use a little jug or a put a small ladle in the jar. In the picture, I made a half recipe of the Ranch Dressing and used a 250 mL mason jar.





Ingredients
1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise, regular fat is best
1 cup plain yogurt
2 pinches of onion powder
2 pinches of garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried dill or 1 tsp fresh***
1 tsp, heaped, dried parsley
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
A few grinds of pepper
4 tsp water

Method
Put all the ingredients in a 500 mL wide mouth mason jar and whisk well. If necessary, add a few more drops of water to get a pourable consistency. It's THAT easy!

This dressing will need at least an hour for the flavours to develop. If you want a more pronounced flavour, add a little more of the seasonings after letting the dressing sit for a few hours. You can always add more onion powder, garlic, parsley or dill, but do so gradually. I learned the hard way not to add too much garlic or onion powder, because the dressing got stronger in flavour after chilling over night. Keep in mind that the shelf life of your homemade dressing will depend on how old your yogurt and mayonnaise are. If your yogurt and mayonnaise are fresh, your dressing will last for 7 days, but because it is homemade, try not to let it hang around too long. Make what you need for the week.

Feel free to play around with the quantities of seasonings. Make the flavours more pronounced by increasing the amounts of seasonings. You can make it yours. My recipe was designed to mimic the bottled stuff... A win for this mom, but perhaps not flavourful enough for your tastes.

***BUDGET TIP!***
Sometimes I have fresh herbs like thyme, parsley or dill in my fridge. If I don't think I'm going to use them before they spoil, I carefully dry them on a clean dish towel and then store them in a freezer bag in the freezer. I can grab what I need when ever I require that particular herb.

Recipe Books; Bolognese Sauce, Marinara & More

 

Over the past few years, I have prepared special cookbooks for a few family members. These cookbooks were a collection of recipes that were particularly enjoyed by the recipients and catered to fit their lifestyles. The first collection was given to my sister. I had gone to her house years ago to do a bunch of meal prep for her before her daughter was born. I spent an entire weekend cooking up a storm in her kitchen and freezing several months worth of dinners. She was thrilled with the meals I had prepared, and so for Christmas that year, I made my first recipe book gift. This book included all the recipes I had prepared for her, plus a few more that I thought she might enjoy. Each recipe page had special tips ranging from budget to preparation and substitution. I later made one for my oldest daughter. Her recipe book was geared to a student's life and had some of her family favourites; tips for shopping, staying on budget, substitutions and how to do some "make ahead" meals. In both cases, my recipe books were put together in such a way that I could add recipe pages down the road to reflect changes in preferences or life circumstances. A gift that keeps on giving and one that can only come from me. My latest Christmas recipe book gift was to my niece.  I put together a collection of budget friendly and easy meals that a young mom with a growing family could use plus some super healthy meals that reflects eating more plant-based.

Making homemade Christmas gifts like this lets me use my creativity, hone my desktop publishing skills, AND give a meaningful, heartfelt gifts, perhaps the closest thing I will get to being "published", HA HA HA! Today, I thought I would share a couple of pages from my recipe books. Let me know what you think!

Just as a heads up, this blog post looks best on your desktop or lap top or tablet.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Erika’s Sweet 16 Birthday Cake

 

 

For those of you who have been hanging out with me, you know that my focus has been to share ways of eating better; my favourite family strategy of “hidden healthy” and to experiment with new to me plant based ingredients and recipes. SPOILER ALERT!! There are absolutely no veggies in this post and ALOT refined white sugar too! But since this is a post about birthday cake, I personally think its ok to indulge once and awhile… after all, it IS a celebration and we don’t eat cake every day!

 

It has been my tradition as a mom to make a special cake for both my daughters’ birthdays. Sadly this little tradition ended early for my oldest because she decided that she didn’t like cake. We changed to homemade ice cream cakes NOT made with cheap ice cream and fancied up with crumb crusts, fancy flavours, and add-ins like gummy bears, candy coated chocolate candies, chocolate chips, and candied fruit peels. No DQ ice cream cakes in this house (had one once and I’m not a fan)! My youngest, now turning 16 still LOVES cake and has decided that she is still not too old for a theme birthday cake. The tradition lives on!

 

Almost every year, I have made a different cake for her. When she was younger, I created a surprise theme cake for her parties including a bunny cake, train cake, and a pool cake. Now, she tests my talents with her own requests.  2 years ago, she wanted a happy face cake; last year she asked for a frog cake; and this year, she asked for a cat cake with pink fur and blue spots if I can manage it.

 

 

 

 

Early on, in my mom career, I used to buy made at the store cakes and I used cake mixes too because I didn’t trust my baking abilities. I even used frosting out of a can... shhhhhh! As I learned more about my food supply and the factory kitchens, I adopted the credo, “if I can’t pronounce it, I don’t eat it” which is probably the reason that I try very hard to minimize my consumption of prepared foods. Gradually, year after year, I dropped a few more “made for me products” from my shopping list, opting to make them myself. One of the first items to get dropped was cake, and low and behold, I found out that with a good recipe and wholesome ingredients, cake, in any flavour, wasn’t so scary after all!  Nothing beats real ingredients when making food for your family!

 

If you want, you can always improve your homemade cake by selecting premium ingredients such as unbleached flour (organic if you can find it) to further reduce your chemical intake or Fair Trade ingredients to give your cake a social conscience. You can even give your cake a humane spin by using eggs, butter, and milk from pasture raised chickens and cows. However you want to improve your cake, the choice is yours.  Just remember, the most important thing you can do for yourself, and those that you love, is to make the cake yourself with real ingredients and whole lot of love!
 

White Vanilla Cake (a Work in Progress, inspired by Canadian Living)

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar (try 1 1/2 cups next time; VERY sweet)

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 tbsp orange zest

1 tbsp. vanilla

4 cups sifted cake-and-pastry flour

5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt 

                                

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Directions

 

Measure the sifted flour into a medium bowl. Add the baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.

 

Pour the milk, orange juice concentrate, and vanilla into a 2 cup measuring cup, whisk to combine.

 

In a large bowl, cream butter thoroughly; by hand, or with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment

 

Add the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy.

 

Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat thoroughly between additions.

 

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, continue to beat. Add 1/2 the milk mixture and beat till mixed in. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, beat to combine and then repeat with the milk and the remaining flour mixtures.

 

Fill your baking pan or pans no more than two thirds full, otherwise the cake batter will spill over the sides of the pan. If you have extra batter, quickly grease a few custard ramekins to make mini cakes. Again, do not feel more than two thirds full!

 

This will fill a 13 x 9 cake pan, OR TWO 9" round pans OR (probably) THREE 8" round pans. Make sure you don't fill more than 2/3 full otherwise the cake batter will overflow.

 

Today I used TWO 9" round pans and had extra batter so I filled 2 Medium ramekins and 2 small ramekins. My small ramekins overflowed because they were too full. Live and learn!

 

Bake the 13 x 9 cake for about 40 minutes, until golden, a cake tester comes out clean, and the cake springs back when touched. 

 

Bake 9 inch rounds for about 30 minutes; bake 8" foot about 25-30 minutes; bake mini ramekin mini cakes for about 20 minutes

 

Cool for 20 minutes in the baking pan, on a cooling rack. Remove from pan and completely cool on rack.

 

Continue with cake preparation or wrap thoroughly and freeze for up to 2 weeks.

 

Frosting Recipe 

My go to easy buttercream frosting recipe is by Canadian Living.  It is rather sweet but it spreads nicely and is super easy.  http://www.canadianliving.com/food/vanilla_buttercream_icing.php

 

For my pink cat, I decided to try my hand at chemical free food colouring, one that is made from real food; nothing artificial. I have seen posts using cooked blueberry for purple, cooked beets for pinks; turmeric for yellows and matcha tea for greens. Today, I used raspberries that I cooked down and pressed through a jelly bag to remove the seeds and excess pulp, and then reduced a little more by simmering gently till slightly thickened. I was left with the most gorgeous red syrup.
 

 

I made my recipe according to the recipe and then set aside about 3/4 cup of frosting to keep white.  I added the raspberry syrup to the remaining frosting. to maintain the consistency, I added a few spoonful's of sifted icing sugar. The frosting picked up a subtle pink hue. Sadly, not as pink as I would have liked for my cake, so I ended up using a teensy bit of store bought food colouring gel to deepen the pink colour. Ah well! The frosting did change colour and it had a hint of raspberry flavour too which was quite lovely. If I had been making a regular layer cake and not one for a theme cake, the natural frosting would have been perfect. Next time, I will see if increasing the volume of raspberry syrup and thickening it a bit with cornstarch while cooking it will allow me to add more colour without diluting my frosting. I will keep you posted.

 

Making the Cat Cake

 

What You Need:

Pink Frosting for entire cake and ears
White frosting for cheeks, chine, eyes and whiskers (I set aside about 1 cup of white frosting before tintin
Licorice shoe string snipped super short for whisker dots, eye dots, and mouth
TWO round green wine gums, sliced thinly
3 Ice cream sandwich wafers (Bulk Barn) or large graham crackers, cut into triangles with a serrated knife - 2 large and 2 small for the contrast

ONE black wine gum or black jelly candy sliced thinly and cut into a small triangle for the nose

What To Do:

Ice your cake like you would for any layer cake with the pink frosting. Put short slits into the cake where you want the ears to go. Spread a little frosting on the bottom of the triangles and gently press into the slits you made.  Frost the ears, front and back. 

With the back of a spoon or an offset spatula, pat the icing all over to make the icing look "fluffy".

With a large piping tip, pipe 2 large cheeks, a chin, and 2 eyes.

Place nose above cheeks, insert the licorice mouth, and pipe the whiskers. Carefully place the whisker dots on the cheeks.

Gently press the green eyes on the piped eyes, and then then place the eye dots on.

Take the smaller triangles and gently press onto the ears for the contrast.

 

I hope you try your hand at making your own cake and frosting. With a little practice, you can accomplish anything, you just need the right ingredients, the right tools and a good recipe. The occasional treat, even high in refined sugar is SO much better for you than the chemical laden ones from Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker!