Salmon cakes

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 2 cans wild salmon
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c breadcrumbs 
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tb of Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing
• salt/(lemon) pepper to taste
• NOTE: If after you mix the ingredients, the mixture is too dry, add some of the water from the canned salmon.

Directions:

1. Blend the salmon, egg, breadcrumbs, onion, dressing, salt, and pepper. If the texture is too dry and does not stick, add some water from the canned salmon. 
2. Create patties from the mix and fry them both sides. 

Note: You can omit the dressing, if you don't have it. It adds some acidity and slight creaminess to the mix. You can also add dijon mustard.

Jackfruit Curry

Ingredients:

• Seeds: 
• 2 tsp each of cumin, black mustard, fenugreek, cardamon
• Spices: 
• 2 tsp each of turmeric, sweet paprika; 
• 4 tsp of garam masala
• cayenne pepper to taste
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp oil/ghee
• 2 onions, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced/chopped finely
• 2 inches ginger, minced/chopped finely
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 2 20 oz cans green jackfruit
• 1 1/2 c of water
• 2 tbsp raw coconut butter
• 8 oz (1 "block") tempeh, cut into ~1" cubes

Directions:

1. Set a pressure cooker/instapot on the "Brown" setting and add the oil. Next add all the seeds and let them roast for about a minute (until you hear popping). Note: cumin seeds tend to burn quickest, so add these last.
2. Add the onion to the spices and let it cook until it becomes slightly translucent. Add the rest of the spices (tumeric, paprika, garam masala, cayene pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, garlic, ginger), omitting the salt until after cooking (this helps the jackfruit become more tender). Once the flavors blend, add the tomatoes, water, jackfruit, and pumpkin. 
3. Set the timer to 8-10 minutes.
4. Once done, add salt and coconut butter to taste. Lastly, add the tempeh.

Notes:

• Consider adding 1 tsp of coriander (seed) and/or less cardamon - this version was a bit floral tasting
• You can replace pumpkin puree and coconut butter with 1 can of coconut milk/cream. The pumpkin adds more nutritional value to the meal and mellows out the spiciness of the spices. Additionally, you can add butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
• The curry tastes better and better rounded the day after making, so it's great to make ahead of time!
• If you want a nice variation, you can heat up your rice with some salt and cumin and top the the curry with some kefir (added probiotics and creaminess!).
• Feel free to add other ingredients to enrich the nutritional value, such a lentils. 

Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-large carrot, grated
• 2 zucchinis, grated
• 2 medium baked & mashed sweet potatoes 
• 1 c ginger-apple sauce (vitamixed apples with raw ginger)
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds (with 6 tbsp of water, set aside)
• 2 tbsp of chia seeds (with 6 tbsp of water, set aside)
• 1/4 c avocado oil
• 1 c goat kefir
• 1/8 c date syrup
• 1.5 tbsp of ground dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 c flour (buckwheat, millet, almond blend)
• 1/2 c rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 c walnuts
• 1 c chopped dried apricots

Makes 2 dozen (24) muffins

Directions:

1. Set over to 350F to preheat. Line cupcake/muffin pan with paper and/or oil. Set aside.
2. Blend all wet ingredients into a large bowl (apple sauce, sweet potatoes, flaxseeds, chia seeds, oil, kefir, date syrup, vanilla, eggs). Mix well and add spices (salt, rosemary, allspice).
3. In a separate bowl, mix thoroughly the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, baking soda). Fold into the wet mixture.
4. Add the solid ingredients into the mixture: grated carrot, grated zucchini, rolled oats, walnuts, and dried apricots.
5. After folding in all ingredients, spoon mixture into the cupcake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Notes: Muffins came out a bit mushy on the inside. Suggestions: 

• Only 1 baked sweet potato
• 1 extra egg
• 1/2 c extra flour
• 1/2 tsp extra baking soda and baking powder
• Bake at 325F for 1 hour

Crisp

½ cup quick cooking oats

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup flour

¼ cup walnuts

¾ tablespoon cinnamon

3 tablespoon unsalted butter

This is general recipe for crisp that can be added on top of any fruit combination. Any fruit that contains a lot of water content should be baked with instant minute tapioca. 

Bake at 350F until the fruits cook and the crisp is browned ~ 30 minutes.

Cranberry Orange Scones

Ingredients:

Scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen

1/2 cup greek yogurt (vanilla)

1 large egg

1/2 cup cranberries

1 tablespoons orange zest (or to preference)

Orange drizzle:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

4 teaspoons orange juice

1.     Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in cranberries and orange zest.

3. In a small bowl, whisk yogurt and egg until smooth.

4. Using a fork, stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)

5. Split the mixture in half. Place each half on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

6.    Blend ingredients for orange drizzle and glaze each scone when cooled.

Red Velvet Beet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

I like the idea of red velvet cupcakes, but I never made them because I don't like baking artificially. Recently, I was invited to a friend's birthday and she requested international food. I thought, how can I make something Polish AND American? So I picked a very American dessert (red velvet cupcakes) and used a very Polish ingredient (beets). It also just so happened that the Polish colors are found in a red velvet cupcake. Perfect dessert!

Now, the challenge was to find a good enough recipe that would keep the red color, without containing an overbearing beet or acidic flavor (used to prevent the beets from browning). I did a bunch of research and found a bunch of recipes, but none to my liking. They tend to be less healthy than I would have liked them to be.

SO, I invented my own. Still needs a bit of tweaking, but I received compliments on them.
(they still have a slight beet flavor - so if you don't like beets, you might want to change the proportions a bit - I'll include suggestions on what I want to try next time...and if it comes out better, I'll edit the post)

CUPCAKE:

• ¾ cup beets (roasted in foil until tender ~50 mins -- 3/4 cup is about 1 medium-large beet)
• ¼ cup oil
• ¼ cup apple sauce
• 2 eggs
• 4 tsp vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 limes (1/4 cup) +balsamic vinegar (1/2 tsp) + apple cider vinegar (1/2 tsp)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup natural unsweetened chocolate (not dutch)

FROSTING (adapted from my carrot cake recipe):

• 1 ounces white chocolate
• 1/2 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Melt white chocolate (over the stove or in the microwave). 
3. Mix cream cheese and butter. Add the vanilla and white chocolate. 
4. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Put in the refrigerator to harden a bit.
5. Shred and puree beets (or put into food processor) – add wet ingredients together
6. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl 
7. Blend wet ingredients with the dry. Pour into cupcake mold and bake for around 20 mins (or until your toothpick comes out clean). Let them cool.
8. Use a pastry decorating bag for the frosting - with the tip, insert into the center from the top and stuff the cupcake a bit with the frosting. Then top it with a bit more. You can sprinkle whatever you'd like to top it off - I used roasted coconut flakes.
   
   Makes 12 cupcakes.

Suggestions for next time:

• I will try only using balsamic vinegar - might bring out more of the sweetness. 
• If I had a food processor, I would try not baking the beets before and just make a puree from fresh beets to preserve some of the color. Might influence the flavor a bit more - just something to consider!
• Add more chocolate (maybe 1/2 cup)
• Add 5 tsp of yogurt 
• Add 2 1/2-3 tsp of baking powder (the mixture is very dense/rich)
• You can try adding less beets (say 2/3 or 1/2 cup and add in a bit more apple sauce (1/3 cup, instead of 1/4) to replace some moisture lost) 

When playing with the chocolate to beet ratio, you might want to be careful because you don't want to lose the red color - beets will turn brown and the chocolate might exasperated it. 

Pumpkin dip

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of ground cloves
• Apple slices and gingersnap cookies

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Gradually add the pumpkin, pie spice, vanilla and spices; beat until smooth. Serve with fruit and cookies. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 3-1/2 cups.

***

It's like pumpkin pie, without the crust!

I made this for a Dippin' party and people really liked it. I didn't measure the exact amount of spices I used, so I tried estimating. Please adjust accordingly to taste!

Adapted from: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Harvest-Pumpkin-Dip