Vanilla Bean Cake with Honey Vanilla Buttercream and Figs

Posted by Michele at 6:47 PM 0 comments

This embodies the warm flavors of fall with the final summer harvest of figs.  We picked up the dozen I used from the local farmers market yesterday and yummy oh yummy... My mother-in-law says this is her new favorite dessert.

For your convenience, you can have the homemade recipe and my thoughts on a cheat (for the dry cake ingredients!)

The homemade... (It's my basic butter cake with added vanilla)
Basic Butter Cake:
Mix & Set Aside: 2c A.P. flour, 1tbsp baking powder, 1tsp salt
Cream: 1/2c softened butter, 4oz. applesauce (a snack size cup)
Slowly beat in: 2/3c white sugar, 1/2c brown sugar
Add in, one at a time, and mix well: 6oz plain Greek yogurt, 1tbsp vanilla, 2 eggs + 1 egg white, 1/6c
almond milk, and 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped.
Add in the flour mixture slowly then beat on medium-high for 2 minutes
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (however your oven works) until done. Makes three, 8" squares.

If you dont want to mix your own, take a box of Duncan Hines French Vanilla and add 1/4c oil, 1/4c Greek yogurt, 1 1/3c water, 2 eggs + 1 egg white, 1tbsp vanilla, and 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped.
Beat on medium-high for 2 minutes
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (however your oven works) until done. Makes three, 8" squares.

For the frosting...
Beat 1 cup of softened butter, 2tbsp raw honey, 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, and 1tbsp vanilla until light and fluffy.  A quarter cup at a time, add in 3 cups of powdered sugar, beating well between additions.  After you last addition, drizzle in up to 1/6 cup almond milk (add only as much as you need to make the consistency correct for frosting).

For the fig filling...
In a food processor, process on high: 12 small green and ripe peeled figs with 1tbsp raw honey.  Pour into a bowl and whisk in 1tbsp cornstarch.  Sit aside for half an hour while you cook and cool your cakes.

When the cake is compelely cooled, ice your first layer with the frosting then spoon over a thin layer of the fig filling.  Cover with a cake and repeat.  Cover with the top layer of cake.  Frost the outside of the cake.  When you serve each piece, drizzle over some of the fig mixture.

Enjoy this combo of summer and fall as the season changes!

Welcome to RDG!

Posted by Michele at 6:35 PM 0 comments

I know what you're thinking... Why in the hell is there a welcome some 30+ entries in???  This blog is new, as of September 2012, even with the backdated entries (which match up with their original posting dates on my blog, My Life After Loss.  So, my apologies for the confusion, but welcome anyway!

The Rantings of a Domestic Goddess are my rants and raves, my recipes and reviews, and whatever other "R" words I can come up with!  As someone who loves to cook and really glorifies in my role as a homemaker, housewife, and stay-at-home mom, I try to pull out all the domestic goddess stops in my daily life and thought maybe, just maybe, you might be interested in having them in your life too.

So wave your magic wand, grab a cup of coffee, and pull up a chair.  Domestic goddesshood, anyone?

Vegan Irish Oatmeal

Posted by Michele at 3:30 PM 0 comments

Originally posted here on September 14, 2012 as "Vegan Irish Oatmeal"

My mom used to make oatmeal for us on cool fall and cold winter mornings, before we'd head off to school. While Bobby and Maya aren't sold on the idea of oatmeal yet (unless it's in a cookie and, even then...), Peter and I have often spent a chilly a.m. with a bowl of piping hot, Irish oatmeal. And there's no better way to have it than with a hot cup of tea!

Vegan Irish Oatmeal (serves 4 @ 425 calories per serving)

In a pot, heat 1 cup of almond milk until boiling. Add in 160 grams (4 cups) steel cut oats (also called Irish or Scottish oats) and reduce the heat to medium-low (around 4/10 on the range). Cook for 10 minutes, then add 56 grams (about 1/2 cup) chopped walnuts and 80 grams (about 1/2 cup) raisins. Stir well every few minutes and cook for another 15 minutes. Add 28 grams (about 2tbsp plus 1tsp) brown sugar and 2tbsp vegan (or dairy if you prefer, but then it isn't vegan!) butter and stir well to combine, cooking for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 2-5 minutes, then enjoy!

I find the oatmeal a tad sweet, so if I'm making a single serving, I usually only add 1tsp of brown sugar; Peter on the other hand, always tosses in an additional squeeze of maple syrup. You could also omit the butter and add a dollop of apple sauce or omit/lessen the brown sugar and use maple syrup to sweeten completely.

Bainigí sult as an bia!
(ya'll dig on in!)

Vegan Orange Almond Chocolate Cake

Posted by Michele at 3:29 PM 0 comments

Originally posted here on September 4, 2012 as "Vegan Orange Almond Chocolate Cake"

I love orange and chocolate... There's something about it that just really makes me happy. I've blogged before about my favorite chocolate cake recipe, so I modified it (it originally comes from the Veganomican) and came up with this winner!!! At 200 calories a slice (and only 150 calories a slice if you dont glaze it), it's pretty groovy).

Come on: you know you'd eat whatever this little guy made... ;)

Vegan Orange-Almond-Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spray/grease a bundt pan. (Or, if you are me, spray it with the 'flour'/'baking' spray.)

Over medium heat, warm 1 3/4 cup orange juice. When it is hot, add 2/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa and whisk until well combined. Remove from heat and rest for 10 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine: 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/4 cup canola oil, 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce, 1/4 cup coconut oil/butter, and 1/4 cup cornstarch. Mix on low (stir setting on the Kitchen Aid) until smooth and creamed.

In a measuring cup/bowl, stir together: 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Set aside.

Add the (cooled) chocolate mixture and 1 tbsp vanilla extract. Mix on low until well combined.

Pour into your prepared bundt pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and continue to cool at room temperature. Top with the glaze (below) if you wish, once the cake has cooled.

Nutrtional Info: Vegan Orange-Almond-Chocolate Cake

How we'll be eating cake tonight!

Orange-Almond-Chocolate Glaze

Over low heat, melt 1 tbsp butter with 75 grams of orange-almond chocolate.* Slowly pour it into 1 cup of confectioner's sugar as you mix on low/stir setting. Add up to 1/4 cup (or none, if you like a thicker glaze) of chocolate milk to make the glaze the consistency that you prefer.*+ Pour over the cake and, if you'd like, top with festive sprinkles to really put you in the autumn mood!!!

*this version is NOT vegan; to make it so, exchange the butter for a vegan spread and the chocolate milk for chocolate almond milk, in addition to using a vegan orange-almond chocolate)
+the nutritional information for this recipe includes 1/4 cup chocolate milk

Nutrtional Info: Orange-Almond Chocolate Glaze

Vegan, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted by Michele at 3:26 PM 0 comments

Originally posted here on August 29, 2012 as "Vegan, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies"

The kids and I really enjoy cooking together. Maya is my chef. She loves to do meals. Bobby is my baker. He gets excited when the oven flips on (but would rather eat what comes off the stove than make it!). Cooking is a great way to toss a bit of math into our day; since I dont normally measure things unless I'm doing GF or V cooking, these cookies are the best of both worlds (and they taste AMAZING!) So, in the vein of vegan banana bread and Peter's GF chocolate chip cookies, here are the most recent happy addition to Bobby and Maya's baking repertoire!

Bobby & Maya's Vegan, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies



Cream together: 1/2 cup vegan butter (or 1/3 cup canola oil), 1/4 cup coconut oil, and 1/4 cup applesauce with 3/4 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup sugar.

Add 1 banana and 1 tsp vanilla and mix until smooth.

In another bowl, mix together 1/3 cup almond flour, 1/3 cup coconut flour, and 1 2/3 cup white rice flour with 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt.

Add flour mixture to your wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

Add a 12oz bag of vegan chocolate chips and continue to mix until well combined.

Drop by tbsp on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and flatten with a fork; cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack or wax paper to cool for 5-10 minutes.



These are moist and just perfect! Enjoy with a cup of milk (dairy free, if you prefer!) or just shove them in your mouth before the little Bobby and Maya monsters get your house!!!

Chocolate Raspberry Decadence Cake

Posted by Michele at 3:25 PM 0 comments

Originally posted here on July 17, 2012 as "The Way...Part II"

Per Amelia's request!

I'll give you two versions of the cake. The 100% homemade and the cheat. :)

The cheat:
A box of Duncan Hines Triple Chocolate Cake. Mix both packets with:
2 eggs plus 1 egg white
1/3c apple sauce
1/4c oil
1/4c Greek yogurt
1c water
1/3c chocolate milk
Bake in pans according to directions (350 for 25-30 minutes)

The homemade... (It's my basic butter cake with the chocolate addition.)
Basic Butter Cake:
Mix & Set Aside: 2c A.P. flour, 1tbsp baking powder, 1tsp salt
Cream: 1/2c softened butter, 4oz. applesauce (a snack size cup)
Slowly beat in: 2/3c white sugar, 1/2c brown sugar
Add in, one at a time, and mix well: 6oz plain Greek yogurt, 1tbsp vanilla, 2 eggs + 1 egg white, 1/6c
almond milk (or chocolate milk for the chocolate cake version)
Add in the flour mixture slowly then beat on medium-high for 2 minutes
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (however your oven works) until done. Makes two 9” rounds.
Chocolate Cake: Melt 7oz dark chocolate with 2 tbsp (of the 8 you will use for the recipe) butter. Add to the creamed butter (before the sugar) and then follow the above recipe.

For the frosting (it's a take on my basic buttercream)
Basic Buttercream:
Beat 1c of softened butter until creamy. Add 1tsp vanilla and 1/6c almond milk (or regular milk). Slowly cream with 3c powdered sugar.
Chocolate: Melt 3.5oz chocolate with 1tbsp butter. Cream rest of the 1 cup of butter with tsp vanilla. Add the melted chocolate, then cream with 3c powdered sugar.
For the Decadent cake, double the chocolate/butter melting (7oz choc and 2tbsp butter).

Cool the cakes completely.

Ice the top of one layer then slather on raspberry preserves (I prefer French style or to make my own). Top with the second cake. Frost the sides and top. Put remaining frosting in a ziplock and cut off a tip. Pipe frosting around the edge,building a ledge around the cake. Within the ledge, lather on 1/4-1/2 cup of raspberry preserves. Chill.

Bring to room temp before serving and toss fresh raspberries on when you serve.

Keep chilled.

(And, like I said, I dont even want to GUESS at the calories!)

Lamb Biryani

Posted by Michele at 3:23 PM 0 comments

Originally posted here on July 17, 2012 as "They Way..."

 

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
-Fanny Fern


Way back when, this was a piece of advice that a woman gave her daughter-in-law... What Peter's mom must have known when she said those words was that I not only love to cook but am happy to spend my days continuing to work myself into her son's heart. :) On today's dinner menu? Dark Chocolate Raspberry Decadence Cake (I'm not even going to guestimate the calories in a sliver of that bad boy... It's petty deadly. It's also Peter's favorite dessert, well, one of them!) To go with dinner is a dish he's mentioned he'd love for me to make: biryani. Lamb biryani to be exact. Using lamb from a local farm, I've modified everyone's favorite, potty mouthed chef, Gordon Ramsay's chicken biryani recipe (which is found in his cookbook Great Escape), and thought I'd share it... You know, just in case you have a heart (that loves Indian food) that you're trying to weasel into! ;) I'll be serving ours with samosas and garlic naan tonight...


Lamb Biryani

Mix the following together and marinate for several hours:
1lb lamb, diced into 1 inch pieces
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1tsp chili powder
1tsp tumeric
1tsp garam masala
1.5tsp minced ginger
1tbsp minced garlic

Heat 1tbsp olive oil and 1tbsp butter over medium heat, and toss in 2 medium onions, chopped, cooking for 8-10 minutes or until soft and caramelized. Add 1tbsp butter, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 whole cloves, and 3 cardamom pods, sauteeing for 30 seconds and until aromatic. Add 1.5tsp minced ginger and 1tbsp minced garlic, and cook for another minute. Add the lamb mixture (with the marinade) and cook for 10-12 more minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat while you prepare the rice.

For the rice, heat 2tbsp butter, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 star anise pod, and 4 cardamom pods in a large pan. Cook for 30 seconds, until the spices become aromatic. Add 300g basmati rice, rinsed and drained (approx 1.5 cups) and 85g raisins, stirring the rice and raisins in the butter for one minute. Add 375ml water (about 1.5 cups or 375 grams) and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then gently simmer and cover, cooking for 10 minutes. Add the lamb and sauce, then recover and simmer for 5 more minutes. Leaving the lid in place, remove from heat and stand for 5 minutes. Prior to serving, thoroughly mix the rice and chicken, and garnsh with coriander leaves (optional).

(4 servings: 550 calories each)