crazy birthday cake

 

THIS is the cake my daughter wanted for her birthday.  THIS is the cake that I made.  It looks fairly similar to the photo of a cake she sent to me.

I did the best that I could (thank you cakes class at Ricks College!) using my vegan chocolate cake recipe then store bought icing that thank goodness is vegan.

Yay for birthdays and for adventuresome cakes.

Here are the steps I took:

slow cooker thai chicken soup

 

Delicous soup.  A big hit.

slow cooker thai chicken soup (platings + pairings)

2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons minced ginger

1 jalapeno pepper

1 (12 ounce) can coconut milk

4 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1 cup frozen peas

7 ounces rice noodles

1 lime, zested and juiced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

salt

garnishes:  cilantro, green onions, jalapeno slices, lime wedges

Combine red curry paste, brown sugar, garlic, cilantro, red pepper, onion, ginger, and jalapeno in a food processor or blender and process until a paste forms.

Add the paste to the slow cooker and stir in the chicken stock.  Add the chicken to the slow cooker, cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.

Use a spoon to break up the cooked chicken into bite sized pieces.

Add the coconut milk and rice noodles and cook for 10-15 minutes longer.

Stir in the frozen peas, lime zest, lime juice, soy sauce and fish sauce and season to taste with salt.

Serve in bowls topped with cilantro, green onions, additional jalapenos and lime wedges.

slow cooker chicken poblano soup

 

Delicious!

slow cooker chicken poblano soup (cooks well with others)

2 pounds chicken breasts

3-4 poblano peppers, seeds removed and diced (I used Anaheim peppers)

2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and diced

1 onion diced

1 red bell pepper diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 (15 ounce cans corn, drained)  (I used 1 summer squash and 1 zucchini, diced instead)

1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (I used my favorite- Trader Joes brand)

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon cumin

kosher salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes

4 cups chicken broth

8 ounces light cream cheese, cut into small cubes

optional:  grated cheddar cheese, hot sauce and green onions

Put all ingredients except the cream cheese into a slow cooker.  Turn it on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Shred the chicken with two forks right in the slow cooker.  Add the cream cheese and cook 30 more minutes on low, stirring a few times until the cream cheese melts.

Taste for seasoning and add more spices if needed.

Serve with tortilla chips and top with cheese, hot sauce and green onions if desired.

khorasan bread

 

My friend Alexa introduced me to two words I had never heard of: kamut and khorasan.  Look them up- they are ancient grains...and why wouldn't I want to try working with ancient grains?!  We split a 50 pound bag of 100% whole grain khorasan (and saved A LOT of money that way) and this was the first recipe I tried.  I love knowing just how nutritional this bread is AND it tastes delicious.  Everyone in the family who tried it enjoyed it.

You should know that when I make whole wheat bread they really don't like it much.  It's just too hearty and tastes too healthy.  I love that this bread was a go!...because I have 24 more pounds of it to use. :)

khorasan bread (occasionally eggs)

prep: 15 minutes, cook time: 35 minutes, rising time:  1 hour 30 minutes, total: 2 hours 20 min

1 2/3 cups non-diary milk, or dairy milk

2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast

1 pound khorasan flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until just warm to the touch.   Pour it into a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and stir in the honey and oil.  Check the temperature now- it should be about skin temperature.

Mix in the yeast, then set aside to bloom for about 10 minutes.  If it doesn't bloom, either your yeast is too old or the milk was too hot.

Stir in the flour and salt to form a wet, shaggy dough.

Knead for about 8 minutes on low speed with the dough attachment or knead by hand (that's what I did).

Set the dough aside to rise, covered, for about an hour in a warm, draft-free place,  It should double in size.

Once the dough has risen, grease or line a bread tin.  Generously flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto it.  Dust with some more flour, then press into a rough rectangle.  The short edge should be the same length as your bread tin.

Roll the dough into a tight spiral from the short edge, then place it seam side down into the prepared tin.

Cover and set aside to rise again for 30 minutes, or until the dough has just reached the top of the tin.  While the dough is rising preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.  Cool for a few minutes in the tin before tipping it out and cooling fully on a wire rack.

Let the bread cool before slicing.