How a Sourdough Cashew Bread & I Met

I've been salivating over The Urban Poser's sourdough cashew bread for a while, but I haven't had time to make it.  That is until now.  And all I can wonder is, "why haven't I done this long before?"  

Yesterday I processed the raw, organic cashews with filtered water.  Then, added the probiotic (mine was a 34 billion cell), which I thoroughly mixed in the cashews.  I put it in my yogurt maker to incubate for 24 hours.  

A word on the probiotic.  There is a mistake in the original recipe calling for a 20-30 billion strain, because the number is not referring to strains; rather, it's referring to cells.  In my probiotic capsules, each capsule contains 34 billion cells, while the probiotic itself has seven (7) strains of probiotics.  What you'll want is to find a probiotic carrying 20-30 billion cells.  I found mine at the co-op in town.  

The one recipe calls for a 7 3/4 x 3 3/4 pan, which isn't very large.  Most loaf pans are more like 9x5.  If you want to make this recipe in your standard one, then you'll need to double the recipe.  What you see in my picture is actually two mini loaf pans.

I love the fresh out of the oven taste of this bread.  I have visions of baking it again in the small loaf pan, then slicing it thin and laying them flat on a sheet pan to toast up for French Onion Soup or crostini.  

PS: I didn't do the lovely egg wash, which makes the end result nice and golden and lovely.  

Kumquat Olive Oil Celebration Cake (Practices of Eating)

I do believe the beginnings of Spring are meant to be deeply breathed in.  While Fall calls us to make roots and hunker down, pulling out the warm quilts and hearty pot for stews...it is in the melting of frost, the saplings bursting and hidden tarragon you knew not was there.  

Lent is preparing to close.  Some will be looking to add back in that forgotten food when Easter morn awakens.  Others, will be looking for ways to simply eat.  In these past couple days, my heart has been sorrow-filled with anxiety and knots in my stomach.  I try to ignore it and find myself reaching for something sweet, something special to eat.  

And then, as if Jesus himself stood in my kitchen, he said,

"Man, woman, child, shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

As I reached for the food processor to puree the dates for this cake, I was struck how food is a gift, but it doesn't satisfy all of our longings.  This gift in which I whole heartedly delight in, because it reminds of so much good coming directly from the hand of God, is also just that...gift.  

Will I praise him when my child isn't gaining weight? Will I praise him when the food is not satisfying?  Will I praise him when the bank account is plentiful?  Will I praise him in low times and high times?

Food reminds us of our very temporal being.  It brings us back to the animal world, our dependence upon it to remain alive.  We can eat simply to give us calories and function.  But, I think to enjoy and savor the food is how it's meant.  However, what do we do when food makes us ill, or it's not celebratory?  

Could it be a reminder that every gift is from God and our praise to him is not dependent upon the feasting, or tantalizing taste buds?

Today, I offer you a Kumquat Olive Oil Celebration Cake.  This cake is lightly sweetened with soaked dates pureed, lending to a moist cake.  The kumquats are sliced and simmered in a pan with honey, lemon juice and one vanilla bean, which candies the sour jewels.  It's perfect for an Easter brunch to remind us of the new life we see in Spring.  

Kumquat Olive Oil Celebration Cake  (printable recipe)

This recipe is grain-free, dairy-free, and soy free. I recommend using a lighter olive oil, as in, not extra virgin olive oil, because it lends a strong, more pungent flavor.  I used a cup of sliced kumquats, but I bought a 12 ounce container from Trader Joe's.  If that be the case, use them all.  Also, kumquats tend to have seeds, so you'll need to pull all of them out, which makes the slicing of them the most laborious part in making the cake.  

Ingredients:

3 cups almond flour, I use Honeyville

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

24 dates, soaked & reserve about 2 Tb of water

boiling water from a kettle

1/2 cup olive oil

3 eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup honey

1 cup sliced kumquats

juice from one lemon

vanilla bean, scrap out the seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Line an 8x8 square pan with parchment, or grease and dust with some almond flour--set aside.

Put the sliced kumquats, honey, lemon juice, vanilla bean pods and vanilla bean into a medium sauce pan.  Put heat to medium-low and give the ingredients a good mix.  Do not allow the mixture to boil, simmer is okay.  While it cooks, you can begin on the cake.  However, keep an eye on it and give it a mix every so often.  You'll want to cook the kumquats for about 7-10 minutes.  Key is to not allow it cook so much that the liquid evaporates.  

Combine all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, almond flour, baking soda, salt, & ginger.  Mix thoroughly.

Put your dates into a 4-cup measuring cup or medium bowl.  Add boiling water to cover all the dates.  Allow them to sit in the water for about 5 minutes.  

Put the dates into a food processor with the 'S' blade, add in 2 Tb of the date water.  Puree, scrape down sides and puree again.  Try to do your best to puree as much as you can before adding the olive oil.  Now, add the olive oil to the dates puree and process.  Scrape down sides and process again.  Add the eggs and puree for about 30 seconds.  

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix till thoroughly combined.  I used my KitchenAid stand mixer for this, but by all means, just use a wooden spoon.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.  Remove the vanilla bean from the kumquats first. Then, take your cooked kumquats and scrape all of them and the yummy juices onto the top of the batter.  Put in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes.  At the 50 minute point, insert a tooth pick into the center of the cake for doneness.  

When done, serve warm or cool and store for 3 days on counter or about 5 days in the fridge.  

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes (Grain-free)

Standing around the large table in Home Economics, we all listened to Mrs. Haile speak on the glories of cake.  She told us how one cake recipe had a secret ingredient in it we wouldn't likely see in a recipe.  Leaving us all guessing what could possibly it?  When it came time to form groups, everyone left wondering if they would have "the" recipe.  

Another group happened to receive that secret ingredient recipe. It was a chocolate cake.  I remember the fork sliding right through with ease.  We all speculated while eating, "what could possibly be the secret?"  There were only a couple more bites left, when Mrs. Haile asked the chocolate cake group what was within.  

"Mayonnaise!," they all said in unison.

My bites became more intentional at that point.  Moving the food around to pull out the flavor.  I could taste a bit of tang in the ending note.  It was there I realized how although hidden, what appears gross actually enhances and tastes good.  

Isn't that how life is?

These days I find myself being pulled.  Worry and anxiety easily sets in, and I begin to escalate in the spiral staircase of 'what ifs.'  The other world feeds it, making me feel like Alice in Wonderland and somehow I'm climbing up a stairs that have been turned into a chute.  Needing to cut myself from social media, in order to avoid mindlessness within the reach of a thumb.  

I'm doing this to find the hidden tastes to this life.  I'm certain the "taste & see that the Lord is good," is accomplished when I'm not stuffing my soul with whatever I can to decrease the silence.

 These chocolate beet cupcakes remind me of that.  How these garnet beets when roasted & pureed then combined with bittersweet chocolate whispers to pay attention.  Pay attention to the sweetness hidden when I lift my head long enough to see it.  I have a long way to go, but I guarantee these cupcakes can withstand the journey (and the waistline).  

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes (printable recipe)

I've seen a couple recipes for utilizing beets within a chocolate cake.  With our recent vegetable delivery box was one of those said recipes.  I figured might as well experiment and turn it into an almond flour cake.  I only used two tablespoons of butter with the chocolate; but, I bet if you're avoiding dairy you could use ghee or coconut oil.  

Ingredients:

2 cups puréed beets

1 cup bittersweet chocolate

2 Tb butter

4 eggs

4 cups almond flour

I cup coconut sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Roast beets covered in foil at 400 degrees for an hour or more, depending on the size of your beets. Allow to cool, remove skin & ends if they are more hard. Cut up the beets into bite sized chunks. Put into a food processor with the 'S' blade. Purée until semi smooth. You will need to scrape down the sides. 

In a small bowl, combine chocolate chips & butter, melt together (either use a microwave or place bowl over simmering water in a pot).  Add the melted chocolate to the beet purée. 

Add the eggs & pulse to combine. 

In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, salt, & coconut sugar. Mix well, then add to beet chocolate mixture.  Blend till thoroughly combined, add some scraping down with a spatula. Pour in the vanilla, blend one more time.

Line your muffin tin with paper liners. Using a small batter scoop (aka ice cream scoop), fill liners 3/4 full. Bake for 25 minutes, insert a toothpick to check. 

These are good on their own. Or, you could make an orange coconut butter glaze. 

Orange Glaze

3-4 Tb coconut butter, slightly melted

zest of 1/2 orange

Juice from 1/2 orange

Mix with a fork and put a little on each cupcake.