Rae's Chocolate-y Chocolate Cake - Gluten Free! (with dairy free option!)

Here is my gluten-free Chocolate-y Chocolate Cake recipe I made up ...just because sometimes you have to have chocolate cake! This is a wonderful cake with dairy free options, as well as a brownie conversion and filling options as well.

Rae's GF Chocolate-y Chocolate Cake:                                                      Oven:  *350  

1 stick softened butter (to make dairy free use all expeller pressed coconut oil instead)
1/2 cup expeller pressed coconut oil
1 1/2 cups rapadura (coconut palm sugar, or sugar)
3 TBLS organic pure maple syrup
stir until combined
add:
3 eggs
stir
add
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups Pamela's GF Baking mix 
(You can use the GF baking mix of your choice but I highly recommend this one for this recipe)
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
lightly stir and add:
Approx. 2 cups almond milk (or milk of your choice)
add enough milk to make the consistency of cake batter... not too thick, not to watery.

Bake in the pan of your choice. I like a 10" spring form lined with parchment on the bottom and greased on the sides... it comes out beautifully. If you don't use parchment, grease and "flour" with a generous amount of cocoa powder. Bake at *350 until JUST set (this means the center does not wiggle when you shake it). Approx. 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Do not use the toothpick method, you may over cook if the pick comes out clean. Allow to cool about 10 minutes and then turn out onto a baking rack (or if in a rectangle glass baking pan, you can leave it in and frost as is).
*For brownies, eliminate the almond milk and the baking powder, add an extra 1/2 tsp of baking soda.
Bake at 350* until you start to smell them and they are not jiggly... do not over bake!

I like to put the cake in the freezer for a while before moving to the next steps. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to split in half through the center.

Add whipped cream (save about a half cup or so to decorate the top):
1 pint organic whipping cream
3-4 TBSP organic pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp organic vanilla
pinch salt
Add fresh fruit like bananas, blueberries, strawberries or raspberries on the whipped dream layer and save a few for garnishing the top as well!

*Alternate recipes:
-Use your favorite jam, like raspberry, strawberry or blackberry instead of whipped cream for a dairy free option OR mix jam into the whipped cream as well... garnish with the same fruit as the jam.
-Leave out the fresh fruit and instead add peppermint extract to both the cake and the whipped cream, garnish -with mint. 
-Use virgin coconut oil instead of expeller pressed coconut oil for a chocolate coconut version. Add 2 TBSP melted virgin coconut oil into the whipped cream when you whip it. Garnish with toasted coconut... add 1-2 TBSP virgin coconut oil to your pan before toasting coconut for an extra coconut flavor boost! 

Ganache Frosting -
3 cups organic chocolate chips
3/4 cups organic cream
1 TBLS coconut oil
pinch of salt
Melt together stirring until nice and glossy. Spoon onto top of cake allowing some to drip over the sides. YUM! :)

OR:
Optional traditional frosting:
1 1/2 - 2 cups organic powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp organic cornstarch
1 stick softened butter (for dairy free use coconut oil)
1/2 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
milk to soften to desired consistency, start with 3 TBSP.
Mix.

Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake

So last night's adventure into healthy dessert baking: 
Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake - Scrumptious! 
(This recipe makes a 6" pan but can be doubled for a 9" spring-form pan)

Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake 

Ingredients:


1 can chilled coconut solids *
1 cup cocoa powder (organic, raw is best)
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
2tsp vanilla
3/4 c real maple syrup
2 eggs




Whip coconut solids with mixer until slightly fluffy, gently add cocoa powder stiring lightly at first. Add salt and vanilla, mix well. Add maple syrup and whip for about 1 minute. Add eggs 1 at a time mixing for about 30 seconds after each. Pour into a prepared pan - buttered, using cocoa powder instead of flour.


Bake at 350* for approx. in a water bath (put cake pan in a bigger pan filled half way with boiling water) for 35-40 minutes or until the top looks set and fairly dry.
Cool overnight in the fridge, serve with a dusting of cocoa powder. 


*chill a can of coconut milk 24 hours, the "juice" will separate from the "solids", use the liquid for another recipe.

Homemade Citrus-Orange Laundry Soap (no Borax!)

Here is my recipe for homemade laundry soap. It's easy, economical and enviro-friendly!
1 bar of soap - grated
4 c. washing soda
2 c. baking soda
1 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. orange essential oil
1 Tbsp. liquid citrus orange castile soap 
(like Dr.Bronner's)
8-10 c. hot water

Heat slightly in a large pot on the stove for a few minutes, turn off heat and mix with a whisk or preferably an electric hand mixer. Pour into container of your choice. 


*This will be a very concentrated "paste" to make it more like regular laundry soap, add about 5 gallons of water. I like to make a batch of concentrate, keep it in one container and then in a separate container (an old detergent bottle) make a thin batch with the extra water. I can then avoid having a 5 gallon bucket of detergent, but I can still have a large batch made AND a container of more "liquid" laundry soap. I do give the bottle a shake before using as well


*To make an even easier powdered version, simply omit the water and vinegar. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Delicious!

Deconstructed Salad - Tuna, organic avocado, sunflower sprouts, heirloom tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic and fresh basil, soaked/ sprouted almonds, raw/organic cheddar, soft goat cheese and lacto-fermented cabbage. YUMMY!

Cute, cost-effective, earth happy

The CUTEST handmade, reusable snack bags!

...and more here

I am sneaking back into blogging, just a bit at a time. Sometimes life just happens to come along and well... you stop blogging. Here I am again, testing the waters. I thought I would do something simple like posting these amazingly awesome, enviro-friendly, cute to boot, handmade snack bags, made to order by a friend's daughter. Her business is called  "Evelyn Fields". Click on the photo to visit her Etsy site and see more.

I Iove the blend of creativity, craftsmanship, home-arts, eco-consciousness, cost-effectiveness and fun all rolled into this idea. What an awesome thing to be able to carry your snacks (or your kids snacks) around in such a lovingly crafted bag. (I bet the love put into these even passes into the food a little!)

Sweet Baby James

It was a waiting day,
a working day,
a day of wishes and wonder.

It was a labor day,
a loving day,
a day of listening and life.

It was a birthday day
a baby day,
a day of breathing and brilliance.

It was a family day,
a fruitful day,
a day of feelings and faith.

It was a precious day,
a perfect day,
a day of pushing and pink toes.

It was a terrific day,
a touching day,
a day of texting and treasure.

It was a magical day,
a miraculous day,
a day of meaning and memories.

It was a sweet day,
a supportive day,
a day of strength and softness.

It was a jubilant day
a journey day,
a day of joy and James.

James Bowman Shannon
November 18, 2010
7lbs. 10oz. 20" long

My Birthday Gift This Year

Last Tuesday was my birthday. I've been sick since the day before and am finally beginning to recover. It may not seem like a good birthday present, but I've found that being sick really does hold gifts.

Sound crazy?

...ya, I understand how it does - but...

there is such a shift in how we view life, experience our bodies, interact with our family, and move through our daily life when we are sick. I know, I know, it seems like such a "Pollyanna" perspective. But give it just a teeny chance for a moment...

Next time you are sick, on the couch with your blanket, snot dripping every 2 seconds, coughing, ache-y, not feeling at all well, take a moment. Take just a moment to look inside at what it is that makes you, You. Take a moment to look at how your daily life and interactions with friends and family are experienced. Take a moment to feel what it is to be well, even in the midst of illness you can know wellness... that feeling of knowing wellness that not even a seemingly sick body can touch. That part that is beyond space and time, beyond matter and physicality. I know, some of you might be asking "what the heck!?" But there is that place when you are sick that allows for an amazing shift in perspective.

Not the perspective that you would normally think. Not that place that says, "Am I ever going to feel well again? Am I ever going to be able to catch up with life after this set back?" But instead the place that says, "What we think matters in daily life isn't all that important." "What we forget to put at the top of our list IS that which matters most." We get to become very clear when we are sick. We get to see the reasons why self care is so important, we get to take the time that allows for quiet and introspection (even if it is seen through a haze of snot). We get to appreciate our family and watch how they interact without our interference. (Not that we are always interfering, but there is a difference in how we view life when we are watching versus putting in our two cents.) We get to be the slightest bit more okay with asking for help, letting others do things, dropping expectation and perfection.

So my birthday present this year came in a package that may seem very odd to most. It came in the form of being on the couch, hacking and sneezing. But it also came in the form of getting to experience a husband and son who deeply care about me, who are deeply capable without me and who show their love in numerous ways. It came in the form of a "time out" that allowed for the precious appreciation of stillness and quiet. It came in the form of gratitude for the wellness that I so often engage in. It came in the form of support from so many friends and distant family who sent words of wellness and lifted me up. It came in the form of knowing that no matter what, I have a recognition, that no mere body can get in the way of this spiritual life... though I appreciate the things this body facilitates, it does not take away from the limitlessness of me just because it is sick.

These gifts and many more were mine this year. My friends say I get a birthday "do-over". I say I have been blessed beyond measure.

Life is amazing.