Beet Chocolate Cake

This recipe is taken from the cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, written by Jessica Seinfeld.  This book contains recipes to help your children get a few more veggies into their bodies.  I tweeked the recipe by exchanging the flour with slightly less, freshly whole grain flour, making the recipe even healthier. (If there is such a dessert;)


Beet Chocolate cake

Batter:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil or trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
• 1     large egg
• 2     large egg whites
• 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate , melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup beet puree
• 1/2 cup lowfat 1 percent buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar with the oil or margarine until creamy. Add the whole egg and egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate, beet puree, buttermilk and vanilla.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt, and beat until smooth.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool 5 minutes in pan before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese with the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla until smooth. Slice the cake in half horizontally. Spread the frosting over the top and between layers of the cooled cake.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. 

From the book Deceptively Delicious 

HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE

APPLESAUCE IS SOOO EASY TO MAKE.  It can be a little time consuming though.  (and a little messy!) But I have say, homemade applesauce is well worth the effort.  Once you've had homemade, you'll never be able to go back to store bought.  


The best applesauce has been made with a variety of apples.  Here are a few tips to help guide you in your apple choices.


Choose:
McIntosh for pink color

Red Delicious for mild flavor and color
Yellow Delicious and Cortland for sweetness
Rome for fragrance
Winesap for tartness


I like to find an apple that is sweet all by itself so there will be no need to add any sugar.  This time, I used Yellow Delicious and a few Red Delicious and Fugi apples for color.  This batch of applesauce still turned out to be fairly yellow.


Begin by washing your apples, and cutting them into smaller chunks (quartered) and cut out any bad spots.


Place apples in a large pot with about a 1/2 an inch of water in the bottom.  If you would like to try a spicy applesauce, add a few whole cloves as well.  Cover and steam.  Remove the apples to the strainer.  (I reserve the juice and add it back to the applesauce later as needed)

the Victorio separates the pulp
 from the seeds and  skins

Notice the difference in color.
The first batch contained more "red" apples"

And whalah! You have applesauce. 

 I used a Victorio Strainer.  You could also use a small strainer like this one, but of course it will be a lot more work.  I don't add sugar or spice to my applesauce, but you could.  

When finished, just season it to taste.   We enjoy ours au'naturel.  Hubs doesn't like cinnamon. So I just add it to mine when I eat it.  I don't bother to can it either, just put it in containers and freeze when it's completely cooled.

PIZZA SAUCE- All purpose sauce

PIZZA SAUCE
makes a great all-purpose

INGREDIENTS

*1 gallon tomato juice

2 t. salt (if needed)

1 t. pepper

2 T. garlic salt

1 ½ cups diced onion, sautéed in oil

2 T. oregano

4 t. chili powder

1 ½ T. brown sugar

1 sm can of paste (add toward the end of cooking)

Cook until thick. Add paste. Seal jars in a water bath for approx. 10 min.

*I cook fresh from the garden tomatoes until soft and pour off the excess juice before smooshing the tomatoes into juice. This cuts the cooking time way down. I can that excess juice and use in soups and marinades, meatloaf and more.

CANNING PICKLED BEETS

Pickled Beets

Scrub beets WELL keeping a bit of the stems and root in tact.

 Beets must be cooked slightly before the canning process. 

 This enables you to get the skins off easily before packing them into jars. 

 I cook my beets quickly in the pressure cooker for 5-6 minutes (depends on their size) on 15 lbs of pressure. 

 If you are not using a pressure cooker, place the beets in a large stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

 Remove from heat. 

Drain the beets, reserving the juice.

The skins will slip right off the cooked beets. Slice or cut the beets placing them directly into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

 Mix up the brine:

4 cups of sugar

3 cups of water 

1 1/2 cups of vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Add the brine.

Run a thin spatula or non-metallic utensil through each jar to remove air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims with a damp paper towel. Add the caps and bands. Place the filled jars on the rack in a water bath canner. The tops of the jars should be completely immersed... add additional hot water if needed. 

Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

(Start timing as soon as the water begins to boil). Remove the jars from canner. 

Cool, test seals, label and store.

This recipe is for approx. 1-1 1/2 pecks of beets,.

These beets can be eaten cold, with pickled eggs (a Pennsylvania Dutch treat) , or served as Harvard beets by adding cornstarch before cooking.

PRESERVING- Dill Pickles

With all the extreme heat this summer, my dill has gone CRAZY! However it seems that the dill that seeds itself from the year before is always ready for a cutting before the pickles are ready for pickling, and the dill that I plant is not ready in time. So to fix this problem, I just dry my dill if it cannot be used immediately. Any leftovers can be used the following year. The same is also true for my cayenne peppers. (used in this particular recipe) I just dry them in the dehydrator and use them as I need them. They will keep for a long time if kept in an air tight container.

Check out this HUGE head of dill. It is the same size as the dehydrator.

I use this simple recipe for my pickles. I don't can pickles in the traditional way, but rather jar them, uncooked, and store them in our extra fridge. To date, the jars are piling up and I'm running out room to store them- the one drawback to making these claussen style pickles.

My Favorite Dill Pickle Recipe

4 qts med sized cucumbers

4 c. vinegar

1 c. salt

3 qt water

For each quart:

2 sprays dill

1 clove garlic

1 small hot red pepper

Wash cucumbers and let stand in cold water overnight. Pack cukes in jars. Combine other ing. And bring to boil. Fill jars with brine, and store in a cool dark place.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

It's strawberry season, and there isn't a better time to enjoy some fresh strawberry shortcake. In the old days, folks enjoyed this dessert as their main dish. I love the idea of eating cake for supper! You know what they say, Life's short, eat dessert first! This version is delicious and beautiful. I think it came from one of the Rieman Publications.






STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE


1 qt fresh strawberries, sliced

1-2 TBL sugar

Shortcake

1-3/4 c. flour

2 TBL sugar

1 TBL baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c. cold butter or margarine

1 egg

3/4 c. sour cream

Topping

1 c. whipping cream

1-2 TBL sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Combine strawberries and sugar; set aside. For shortcake, combine dry ingredients in a large bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. In a small bowl, beat egg; add sour cream. Stir into crumb mixture just until moistened. Turn onto a floured board; knead 25 times or until smooth. Roll out into a 7-1/2 in. circle. Cut a 2 in. hole in center to form a ring. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For topping, beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks form; stir in vanilla. Just before serving, split cake horizontally. Spoon juice from berries over bottom layer. Top with half of the berries and half of the topping. Add the top cake layer, remaining topping and berries. Cut into wedges. Yields 8 servings.