Gluten-Free Lemon-Raspberry Cake

This was Pete’s second birthday cake. Actually, he shared this cake with our friend Mike, hence the “69”—Mike turned 35 and Pete turned 34 so the only logical number to put on top of the cake was 69.

Anyway, the cake…WOW. This was one amazing cake. It reminded me of our wedding cake (from Cakes for Occasions), which was quite possibly the best cake I’ve ever had (and was not gluten-free).

(Adapted from The Cookbook Chronicles, via Gluten-free girl and the chef)

For the cake:

½ cup sorghum flour

½ cup white rice flour

½ cup tapioca starch

½ cup potato starch

¾ tsp. xanthan gum

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

5 eggs

1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

3 tsp. lemon zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. orange extract

½ cup fat-free sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease (lightly, with canola oil spray) and line two 9” cake pans.

2. Combine the four flours, xanthan gum, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk.

3. Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

4. Lower the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs, on at a time, mixing thoroughly after adding each egg.

5. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla and orange extract to the stand mixer. Beat in the dry ingredients and then add the sour cream. Beat until everything is combined.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the tops are light golden brown.

7. Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

For the lemony center:

Lemon curd (click here for the recipe)

For the frosting:

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

12 oz. light cream cheese

1 ½ cups icing sugar

¼ cup raspberry jam

¼ cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. orange extract

Combine all ingredients in a stand mixture and beat until smooth.

To put it all together:

Smother the top of one cake with the lemon curd. Place the second cake on top and smother the whole delicious creation with the raspberry frosting.

Spinach-Pesto Lasagna

THIS is delicious. And when I say “delicious,” I mean so friggin’ delicious that my mouth is watering just a bit as I think about it. If you like pesto, make this now.

(Adapted from Women’s Health)

Nino’s pesto (click here for the recipe)

2 cups (or so) part-skim ricotta cheese

9 lasagna noodles (We use gluten-free noodles, which means we have to cook them first. Go ahead and do that no-boil thing if your noodles allow.)

2 cups cooked chopped spinach, drained

Shredded parmesan cheese

Shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 8 oz.)

1. Preheat oven to 350° and drizzle a lasagna pan with olive oil.

2. Whisk the pesto and ricotta together in a medium bowl, adding just enough ricotta so that the mixture maintains a green tinge when thoroughly combined.

3. Place three noodles on the bottom of the pan and spread half the pesto mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, top with half the spinach and sprinkle with mozzarella. Add another layer of noodles, then most of the remaining pesto, some parm, the rest of the spinach and some mozzarella. Top it off with a final layer of noodles, what little remains of the pesto mixture and a whole lotta mozzarella.

4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

Chard with Sherry Vinegar and Walnuts

We get a lot of chard from our awesome CSA. Chard is great (and super healthy), but we can only eat Chard with Feta so many times before we go crazy. So we’re trying out some new chard recipes. Here’s the first one. It’s quite tasty—rather ugly, but quite tasty.

(Adapted from 3/GO Triathlon)

Heaping ½ cup raisins (maybe closer to ¾ cup)

2 tbsp. sherry vinegar

lots of chard, de-stemmed, leaves sliced

1 small red onion, sliced

¼ tsp. sea salt

¼ cup (a hefty ¼ cup) walnuts, toasted and chopped

1. In a small bowl, combine the raisins, sherry vinegar and ¼ cup boiling water. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.

2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.

3. Use a slotted spoon to remove the raisins from the liquid and dump the raisin liquid into the heated pot.

4. Add the chard to the pot.

5. Add the red onion and salt to the chard and lower the heat to medium. Cook, covered, for about 5 minutes, until the onion and chard are tender. (The original recipe said to cook for 10-12 minutes, but the chard was already starting to look dead after 5 minutes.)

6. Add raisins and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

7. Top with walnuts and serve.

Flourless Chocolate Banana Cake

This was the first of Pete’s two birthday cakes. It was awesomely delicious and insanely easy to make—and it was perfectly attractive until some idiot (me) put the candles in the cake while it was still warm.

(Adapted from Elana’s Pantry)

3 eggs, separated

¼ tsp. sea salt

½ cup agave nectar

¼ cup canola oil

3 brown bananas, mashed

heaping ½ cup cacao powder

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9-inch springform pan.

2. Combine egg yolks, agave and salt in a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes.

3. Add oil and banana and blend again until combined.

4. Add cacao powder…and blend.

5. Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until they form stiff peaks.

6. Gently fold the contents of the blender into the bowl with the egg whites.

7. Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

*It’s quite tasty topped with a dollop of Banilla yogurt.

Why we eat what we eat

Why don't we eat much meat?

This sums it up quite nicely: EDF's Meat Eater's Guide

Sweet and Sour Tofu Skewers

It’s still hot. You’re still hungry. How ‘bout more kebabs? (Note: The word kebab (also spelled “kabob”) should not be confused with the word haboob. Trust me, you don’t want to eat a haboob.)

(Adapted from Women’s Health)

1 package extra-firm tofu, drained, patted dry and cut into skewerable cubes

2 medium zucchini, cut into skewerable chunks

1 pineapple, cut into skewerable chunks

1 large red onion, cut into skewerable chunks

2 red bell peppers, cut into skewerable chunks

1 tbsp. maple syrup

3 tbsp. ketchup

½ tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. rice vinegar

1 tsp. Asian chili sauce

8 skewers (soaked in water for 20 minutes if wooden)

1. Preheat grill to medium high and assemble skewers: tofu, zucchini, pineapple, onion, red pepper. (Use whatever order you want, as long as the skewerables stay on the skewers.)

2. In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, ketchup, soy sauce, rice vinegar and chili sauce.

3. Brush about half of the glaze on the skewered food and grill, turning occasionally, until everything is lightly charred and the vegetables are at least a little bit soft.

4. Brush the remaining glaze on the food and eat.

Lemon-Garlic-Marinated Chicken and Grape Skewers

It’s hot. You’re hungry. Here’s a recipe.

(Adapted from “So Easy”)

2 tbsp. olive oil

juice from 1 lemon

finely grated zest from 1 lemon (at least ½ tsp.)

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. salt

skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into skewerable cubes (the original recipe calls for 1lb. of chicken, but of course chicken never comes in 1 lb. packages…just use one package.)

8 skewers (soaked in water for 20 minutes if wooden)

1 ½ cups seedless green grapes

1. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and salt in a bowl. Whisk.

2. Transfer marinade to a zip-top bag and add chicken. Seal and squish to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (up to 5 hours).

3. Thread chicken and grapes onto skewers, alternating grape-chicken-grape-chicken, etc.

4. Preheat grill to medium high and prep with cooking spray.

5. Grill until the chicken is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.