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Monday, February 16, 2009

Recipes by Request....
On Saturday, I posted on my facebook page that I was going to make carrot bread. A few folks commented that they would like to have the recipe. I'm always happy to share!

I found this recipe in a recent catalog from Penzeys Spices. I came to discover Penzeys from my future sister-in-law. She is, by far, the most amazing cook. Last year, she made a cake for her oldest child's school fundraiser. It made more money than lunch with a local TV personality.

Take that and rewind it back.

Now, the Big Guy and I are trying to limit our sugars and white flour. I actually found that if I eat too much white flour, I don't feel the best. So, I did alter the recipe a bit. But let me assure you--this was wonderful. It is not sweet, like a carrot cake. It reminds me of zucchini bread.

This lasted about a week in our house. Which was a miracle in itself.

Here is the recipe as written. I'll give my alterations in parentheses

Carrot Bread
2 cups of sugar (I used 2 cups of splenda)
1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil (I used 1 3/4 cups of natural applesauce--try Motts Healthy Harvest Granny Smith Apple.)
4 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour (I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup of regular flour, 1/4 cup of soy flour)
2 t of baking powder
2 t of baking soda
1 T of cinnamon
1/2 t of salt
2 cups of shredded carrots
(1 T of ground flax seed)

Before I go into the directions, keep in mind that if you use all wheat flour, it will be a lot thicker and a bit dry. That's why I added a combination of soy and regular flour and upped the applesauce to help give it a little more moisture.

Also, soy flour is not a 1:1 swap. It has no gluten, therefore it will not rise. But to add a little bit in this, it helps to actually add a little protein to the bread.

I also added the flax seed to bulk it up a bit. You couldn't even tell it was in there.

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 (if you want to make muffins, preheat to 350). Grease & flour two bread pans and set aside. Cream together sugar and oil. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually add dry ingredients until well mixed. Add carrots (and flax seed). Pour into pans and bake for 55 minutes (if making muffins, bake for 25 minutes).

The Big Guy loved this bread with a bit of cream cheese. I loved it with some natural peanut butter.


Now, I had another request for my hummus. I cannot take credit for this recipe. This is 100% Rachel Ray. But let me just say that Rachel Ray has helped my Big Guy eat more veggies because of this hummus.

Rachel Ray...I thank you.

This hummus is not a traditional hummus as it does not have tahini. I repeat--this does not have tahini. But it does have chic peas. And lemon. And hot sauce. And garlic.

Oh. It's so good.

Rachel Ray Hummus (or as she calls it "Lemon Chic Pea Dip")
1 can of chic peas--drained and rinsed
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 to 1 t of cayenne pepper (use more of less...your call)
1 t of dried thyme (you can also use parsley)
dashes of hot sauce (again, your call on how much)
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil

It is best to use a food processor--but I'm sure a blender would work too.

Put chic peas, garlic, cayenne, thyme, hot sauce, lemon zest & lemon juice in the food processor. Zap it until it looks like thick oatmeal. Drizzle in the olive oil and process until it has desired texture like hummus.

Eat with veggies, pita chips, or whatever your heart desired. My latest desire is string cheese. Go figure.

Will last in the 'fridge for 3-4 days.

I hope you enjoy the recipes!

4 comments:

Aubrey said...

Oooh! My mouth was watering as I was reading this.
Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Kelley! Can't wait to make the carrot bread :)

Anonymous said...

Kelley thanks so much for posting the recipes. I look forward to trying them.

Elle said...

I'm trying out the carrot bread tonight - it looks yummy! I'll let you know how it goes. Enjoying your blog - thanks for stopping by mine & saying hi!