by jphilo | May 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
Hi and thanks for stopping by the Gravel Road. I’ve been experimenting with my tried and true honey-oatmeal muffin recipe, hoping to make it better at fighting candida, a normally harmless yeast fungus that can exacerbate allergies if not kept in check. Coconut and flax fight candida while sugar (even honey, maple syrup, agave, and the like) feeds it. So this version of the recipe substitutes coconut oil for corn oil, adds shredded unsweetened coconut and ground flax seed, while cutting down a bit on the honey. Give it a try and see what you thing!
Honey-Oatmeal Muffins
1 egg, beaten 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup honey 1 cup soured rice milk*
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine beaten egg, coconut oil, sour rice milk and honey. Stir. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to liquid mixture. Stir by hand until dry ingredients are moistened, but batter is still lumpy.
Line muffin pan with muffin papers. Spoon batter into cups until they are ¾ full. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the edges turn golden brown. Do not over bake! Serve them warm. Or let them cool and store in gallon freezer bags. Makes one dozen.
*Sour rice milk by putting 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a 1 cup measure. Fill to 1 cup mark with rice milk and let sit at least 15 minutes before using.
by jphilo | Feb 27, 2013 | Recipes
Just after I perfected a new recipe for dairy-free chocolate chip cookies, Lent came along–as did my choice to forgo chocolate until Easter. Talk about bad timing! Then again, the chocolate cravings turn my thoughts back to Lent and Christ’s ultimate sacrifice several times a week. So my decision functioning as it should. At least in that department.
But not so well in the there’s-a-potluck-over-the-weekend-and-you-need-to-make-something-you-can-eat-and-other-people-will-like department. So http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/product/vegan-buttery-sticks/ Next time I make them, I plan to toast the coconut to enhance flavor and texture, too.
Coconut Cookies–Dairy Free Variety
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all-purpose)
2 cups oatmeal
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast the pecans in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool.
Cream sugar, butter and eggs until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add oatmeal, coconut, and nuts. Stir well after each ingredient is added.
Drop dough by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8 – 12 cookies, depending on how chewy you like them. Makes about 4 – 5 dozen.
PS–Hiram’s mom threw the cookie jar on her potter’s wheel back in the 1980s. She made it from two kinds of clay she dug from a riverbank in Alaska. Beautiful, don’t you agree?
by jphilo | Mar 30, 2011 | Recipes
This recipe is one I don’t make often since someone in our house doesn’t like coconut. I might have mentioned that fact in De Lime in De Coconut Cheesecake post, but still refuse to name the accused. Anyway, because of the raging coconut controversy, I only make these cookies when:
- We have company, or
- I’m taking a meal to large family.
So when a friend fell last week and broke her writing wrist, I volunteered to take a meal – partly out of compassion and partly because someone at our house had a hankering for coconut-oatmeal cookies. Of course, that person had to run quality assurance tests on the cookies, several tests in fact, until that person deemed them fit for human consumption. That person, who shall remain nameless, thought they were mighty tasty and hopes you think so, too.
Chewy Coconut-Oatmeal Cookies
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all-purpose)
2 cups oatmeal
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar, butter and eggs until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add oatmeal and coconut. Stir well.
Drop dough by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8 – 12 cookies, depending on how chewy you like them. Makes about 4 – 5 dozen.
by jphilo | Mar 16, 2011 | Recipes
This post is the second in a series of controversial recipes. You may remember the first recipe deemed controversial, Snicker Apple Salad, because of differing opinions about whether it should be called a salad or a dessert.
Today’s recipe stirs family debate in an entirely different arena. Of course, cheesecake is a dessert, so that’s not the issue. The question is this: Is coconut cheesecake delicious?
The resident coconut lover in this house thinks it’s delicious. The other person who lives here and has a strange aversion to coconut, thinks differently. To break the stalemate, please give the recipe (which came from American Profile Magazine about a year ago) a try, and then leave a comment about what you think. Or, if you don’t have time to cook, stop by our house and sample the one I made. It was more than the two of us could eat, so most of it is in the freezer waiting for company!
De Lime in De Coconut Cheesecake
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
3 tablespoons melted butter
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To prepare crust, combine all ingredients in a food processor blender. Process until just blended. Press into bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan.
Filling:
4 eight ounce packages cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can sweetened cream of coconut milk (in the beverage section at the grocery store)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons grated lime rind
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium high speed until smooth. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time; beat well. Add remaining filling ingredients and beat well, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. Scrape filling into crust.
Bake 75 – 90 minutes, until center jiggles slightly when pan is tapped. Remove from oven and run a knife around the inside of the pan. Cool to room temperature on wire rack. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Serves 16.
