obese dinosaur cookies (wheat-free)

We shamelessly ripped this sugar cookie recipe from AllRecipes.com and adapted it to make it more exciting and more Maisha-friendly. We substituted spelt flour and tapioca flour for wheat flour and added spices to jazz it up.



Ingredients

• 2 cups whole spelt flour
• 3/4 cups tapioca flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp fresh-ground cardamom
  
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Mix dry, mix wet, mix together
2. Roll out dough on (spelt) floured surface about 1/4 inch thick
   
3. Do the cookie cutter thing (we used a stegosaurus and a triceratops)
   
4. Bake for 8 minutes on a greased sheet at 375° F
5. When they're done cooling, EAT THEM!

Reflections

We figured out what killed the dinosaurs: too much sugar and butter! It was extinction by obesity! They were delicious but ambiguously shaped. We noticed that the cookies with more flour (at the end of the batch) poofed up less; we think adding more flour might have improved their baked form.

Willie's Cupcakes (wheat & dairy free)

Mel's family has a traditional birthday treat, Willie's Cake. It's a yellow cake with chocolate frosting made from scratch and is a Sweet favorite. When Maisha was having mystery allergies, we adjusted the recipe so that it would be wheat and dairy free. Mel was nervous to mess with tradition, but everybody who tried it said it was just as delicious as the original. Also, we made them into cupcakes instead of the usual doubly layered cake.

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 3 cups granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted (vegetable oil or margarine work, too)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 1/3 cups soy milk, separated (plus a bit extra for dissolving cornstarch)
  
• 2 1/2 cups white spelt flour
  
• 4 squares baking chocolate, unsweetened
• 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

For the batter...

1. In small bowl, beat 3 egg whites until stiff & foamy.
2. In large bowl, mix 2 cups sugar, butter (softened/melted), vanilla, baking powder.
3. Gradually add 1 cup soy milk & white spelt flour to mix.
4. Add beaten egg whites to mix. Fold in by hand until just mixed.
5. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan. Pour batter equally into them.
6. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, until middle is not sticky.

For the frosting...

1. Put a medium sized pot on the stovetop on medium heat.
2. In the pot, add the baking chocolate, 1 1/3 cups soy milk, 1 cup sugar.
3. Mix together. Let it begin to boil. Leave it at medium heat the entire time.
4. In a small bowl or cup, dissolve 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch in a bit of soy milk.
5. Pour the dissolved cornstarch/soy milk into the pot. Continually stir until mixture thickens.
   

For the assembly...

Once the cupcakes are baked, let them cool completely. Let the frosting cool, too - it will be easier to decorate this way. Then, you'll be free to frost the cupcakes and decorate them however your heart desires.

Reflections

The traditional Sweet family recipe is the same as blogged here, but with wheat baking flour and cow's milk (to be exact, an even more traditional recipe calls for chicken fat instead of butter - we think butter works nicely enough). Instead of using a cupcake pan, you can use two greased 8-inch pans and assemble them like a standard cake.

Important! Make sure the spelt flour is white spelt. Mel tried using brown spelt flour and was disappointed at how un-"Sweet" it was.

Lavender Limeade

This recipe is shamelessly ripped from Country Living. The only thing we did differently is doubling the recipe and using organic evaporated cane juice instead of regular granulated sugar, because we made the lavender limeade for my brother's birthday and he's sensitive to (and avoids) processed sugar.

Ingredients

• 12 cups water
• 2 cups fresh lime juice (about 14 limes)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime zest
• 2/3 cup fresh lavender flowers
• 3 1/2 cups organic evaporated cane juice (or sugar)
  

Instructions

1. boil 4 cups of water, the cane juice crystals (or sugar), lime zest, and the lavender flowers in a pot
   
2. once it reaches boiling, turn it down to low heat and stir until all the sugar dissolves, making a very liquidy syrup
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. strain out the lavender bits and compost them
4. combine the syrup, lime juice, and remaining water (8 cups), stir, and chill until serving

Reflections

We loved this recipe! We think it could do with slightly less cane juice/sugar (by about half a cup), so maybe we'll try that next time. Maisha also wants to try this recipe with basil because she is a basil freak, and Mel wants to try it with mint.

stuffed tomatoes

We really like stuffing things. Specifically, we like to invent vegetarian pilafs and cram them into hollowed-out produce. This week we made a pseudo-risotto and packed it into tomatoes. These stuffed tomatoes are a delicious, protein-rich main course, and if you have extra stuffing, it's good by itself and in other types of produce (we put it in acorn squash when we ran out of tomatoes).


Ingredients

• 4-6 large tomatoes
• 2 1/2 cups any kind of wild or brown rice mix
  
• 5 mushrooms, finely chopped
  
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
  
• 1/3 of a yellow onion, finely chopped
  
• half a can of black beans
• a handful of almonds, finely chopped
  
• dried fruit (we used craisins, prunes, and Turkish apricots), finely chopped
  
• rosemary
• basil
• goat or sheep cheese
  
• a little bit of butter or vegetable oil
  
• salt

Instructions

1. start the rice (water to rice ratio is 2:1)
   
2. saute the onions in butter (or oil) until translucent, add mushrooms and bell pepper, saute
3. in a separate bowl, mix the almonds, rosemary, basil, and dried fruit, then add the beans
4. slice the tops off the tomatoes (like jack-o-lantern lids but less jagged) and hollow out the tomatoes with a spoon. Add the tomato innards to saucepan of mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper, and put the lid on over low heat
   
5. when the rice is ready, add everything together and stir it, it will probably be a bit soupy and risotto-ish because tomatoes guts are wet!
6. add salt to taste
   
7. place the hollowed-out tomatoes onto a baking sheet and stuff the rice pilaf blend into them, alternating with layers of goat or sheep cheese
8. bake the stuffed tomatoes at 375F until their skin starts to peel off and their sides threaten to split
9. garnish as desired (we sprinkled more goat cheese on top) and EAT THEM!

Reflections

This is a pretty flexible recipe. You can use almost any kind of nuts, beans, dried fruit, rice blend, and complimentary vegetables. Fresh basil and rosemary is better than the dried stuff, if it's available. Don't be afraid to sample it as you're making it so that you can decide how much of each type of spice or other ingredients you want to add.

iced chai latte

Okay, I'll admit, this title may make the recipe seem much more impressive and complex than it actually is. Basically, you brew extra strong tea and pour it over ice then add milk. Humor me though, and read on for some tips and ideas.

Ingredients

• chai tea (bagged or loose leaf)
• water
• ice cubes
• milk (any kind, Mel prefers soy)

Instructions

1. boil enough water for one cup of tea (or more if you want more in the end)
2. use twice the amount of dry tea as you would for making hot tea. It will be diluted by the ice cubes
3. pour boiling water over tea. Steep for about 5 minutes.
4. while tea is steeping, fill up a glass with ice cubes
5. after tea is fully brewed, pour it into the glass, leaving room for a splash of milk. Add the tea to the ice while it is still hot.
6. add desired amount of milk to the now iced chai tea
7. enjoy! (preferably with a bendy straw)

Reflections

You can make entire pitchers of this refreshing brew and add milk to the tea each time you pour a new glass. Experiment with the strength of the tea and types of milk. If you add sugar, add it to the tea while it is still hot so that it dissolves more easily. I believe pouring the tea over the ice while it is still hot keeps it more fresh than if you ice it after it has already cooled off. However, play around with it and there may not really be much of a difference after all (but why wait for it to cool down?) Try out all different types of tea: earl grey/english breakfast with lemon or milk, peppermint, orange spice, or anything you can conjure up.

noon berenji (Persian rice shortbread cookies)

Norooz (Persian New Year) happens during the spring equinox. A delicious way to celebrate this holiday is with noon berenji, shortbread cookies made with rice flour and a lot of butter. Even though they take a bit of time to prepare, they are quite simple to make.

Ingredients

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted (2 sticks)
• 2 cups rice flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon rosewater
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped pistachios (decoration)

Instructions

1. mix egg yolk, butter & sugar until creamy
2. add rice flour, cardamom & rosewater. Use enough flour so that the dough does not stick to your hands
3. put the dough in a resealable plastic bag & refrigerate for 2+ hours
   
4. remove dough from fridge & let stand for 1+ hour, or until soft enough to knead by hand
5. knead well by hand for 10 minutes
6. preheat oven to 350F & grease a baking sheet
7. roll dough out on a floured surface to about 1cm thickness
8. use small cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Put them on the baking sheet close together (not touching)
9. decorate before baking. Use finely chopped pistachios, poppy seeds and/or a fork to create designs on the dough

   

10. bake for 15-20 minutes
11. EAT THEM!

Reflections

These cookies are delicate and great with tea. As for obtaining the ingredients, check out Mediterranean specialty stores, they will certainly carry rosewater and cardamom as well as everything else you will need for this recipe. As a second choice, try a natural foods store. It will be cheaper to find whole cardamom pods and grind them up yourself (use a mortar/pestle) and will give a fresher flavor to the cookies. You can use either bleached or unbleached rice flour, or a combination. We got this recipe from The Oregonian, but adapted it a bit with suggestions from Mel's mom. Tips from Mel's mom: add green food dye to the chopped pistachios for added festive decor, and use a floral shaped cookie cutter to best represent the traditional springtime Persian cookie.

zesty lemon tatos

These are kind of like fries, but far superior (and healthier). These baked potato chunks can be a tasty snack, side dish, or main dish and are simply made.

Ingredients

• 4 potatoes
• 1 lemon
• a few springs of rosemary
• olive oil (enough to cover potato pieces)
  
  

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 350
2. wash & chop up potatoes into bite-size chunks. put 'em in a bowl
   
3. zest the lemon and juice it over the potatoes (watch for seeds)
4. finely chop rosemary, add to potatoes
5. drizzle olive oil generously over the mix
6. mix everything together in the bowl until potatoes are evenly coated
7. spread the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet
   
   
   
8. bake for 21 minutes, flip potatoes & return to oven for another 16 minutes
9. IMPORTANT: k, go eat them.

Reflections

The first time we crafted these zingy potatoes, we couldn't taste the lemon very well, besides the pieces of lemon zest. Experiment for the future: soak the potato pieces in the lemon juice longer before baking them, or just use more lemon. Also, more rosemary and/or other complimentary spices. Maisha wants to try it with pomegranate sauce instead of lemon some time.