Chocolate Raspberry Tart

I got this recipe from a dairy-free, multi-allergy friend. I'm not entirely sure where she got it.
If you've got weird allergies, this dessert recipe is for you!

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour (I've also discovered tigernut flour works)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• Pinch of course sea salt (I preferred fine for my crusts)

Filling:

• 1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (it's better to chop up a bar than to use chocolate chips, in my experience)
• 1/4 cup raspberry preserves (100% fruit)
• 2 cups raspberries

Directions

1. Lightly grease a 9in pan with a removable bottom with coconut oil (I used a pie plate)
2. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the crust and stir together. Press evenly into the prepared tart pan. Set aside.
3. Place finely chopped chocolate in a large bowl (wider is better than deeper in this instance). In a small saucepan, bring coconut milk just to a boil. Pour hot coconut milk over chocolate and let stand 1 minute, then stir until smooth and creamy. Stir in raspberry preserves. Pour the filling into the prepared crust. 
4. Garnish the top with raspberries.
5. Place tart in the refrigerator to set and cool completely, about 1-2 hours. Slice and serve!

Notes: I definitely recommend using fresh fruit for this tart. I used frozen strawberries because that's what I had and the texture was not quite ideal since the fruit was squishy. Depending on how dark the chocolate is that you're using (I was using like an 85% dark chocolate) and how much sugar is in your preserves/jam, you may want to add some maple syrup to your chocolate mixture as well. If you use a super dark chocolate like I did, the bitterness of the chocolate may overwhelm the fruit and you'll not get the tart flavor. This recipe is also easy to use as a spring-board for other flavor combinations (such as chocolate-orange); just replace the raspberry preserves with preserves, puree, or juice of the fruit you want and replace the whole raspberries with the fruit you desire. It's also easy to taste the chocolate mixture before putting it in the tart to set. Feel free to add a little vanilla or almond extract. I'm contemplating a chocolate mango, chocolate pineapple, or chocolate mint flavor next. 

chocolate-orange tart

Easy, Tasty, Quick Breadsticks

I remember I got this recipe off the internet somewhere, though I don't remember where... Anywhoozle.

Combine:
2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar

Stir together and leave to sit for a few minutes. #yeastthings

Add:
2 tsp salt
4 cups flour

After mixing, roll (or dump) the whole thing out on a cookie sheet. With a knife, cut the dough once lengthwise and five times widthwise (or whatever size breadsticks you prefer). Brush with olive oil or melted butter on top and spring with garlic salt and any other herbs you want to put on there. We frequently use Rosemary.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. I make this recipe at one mile altitude between 350 and 375 F for 12 minutes because my oven doesn't go higher than that. It's also pretty easy to make changes to the recipe for a texture you enjoy more. Anna has altered it in some way to make it denser than following the recipe exactly. I'm not sure how she does it... Any way you do it, it's a pretty simple no-fail recipe. Enjoy!

Kahlua Cake

• 1 pkg Golden Butter Cake Mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 pkg vanilla instant pudding (3 1/2oz)
• 3/4 cups oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup Kahlua
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Combine cake mix adding 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, pudding, oil, and vanilla. Mix well.

Divide batter in half. To one half, add brown sugar, Kahlua, and pecans. Grease bundt pan.

Pour 1/2 of the Kahlua mixture, then all the plain mixture, then the remaining Kahlua mixture. Run a knife through mixture to marblize. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Check cake in 1 hour. 

Chocolate Cake from Texas

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 2 small boxes chocolate fudge flavor instant pudding
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 & 1/2 cups water
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 (12oz) bag of chocolate chips
• Jiffy chocolate frosting or chocolate ganache (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt cake pan. In bowl,  combine cake mix, pudding, oil, and water. Blend thoroughly. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into bundt pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes then remove from bundt pan. When completely cool, frost with chocolate frosting (optional). Serve with cool whip.

Quick Beer-Crust Pizza

I found this recipe at this website. I totally came across this accidentally. It's the most delicious pizza crust I've ever made.

• • 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 cups semolina*
  • 1 tablespoon Pizza Dough Flavor, optional
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups room-temperature beer
   *Substitute unbleached all-purpose flour if you don't have semolina. (I used unbleached flour when I made it. I also used Blue Moon for the beer.)
  
  
  1) Mix and knead together all of the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer or bread machine — until you've made a smooth, soft dough. 

  
  

  2) Cover the dough, and allow it to rise for 30 minutes, or for up to 2 hours.

  
  

  3) Preheat the oven to 450°F with the pizza stone (if you're using one) on a lower rack.

  
  

  4) Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a 10" to 12" round.

  
  

  5) Place the rounds on parchment paper, if you're going to use a pizza stone. Or place the dough on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. For thin to medium crust, bake the pizzas immediately. For thicker crust, let them rise for 30 to 60 minutes.

  
  

  6) Transfer the pizzas, parchment and all, to the baking stone. Or place the pans in the oven.

  
  

  7) Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, top as desired, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the bottom crust is crisp and the cheese is bubbly and browned. 

  
  

  8) Remove from the oven, and serve hot.

  
  

  Yield: 2 pizzas.

  
  

  I made my pizza with Ranch dressing, bbq pork, ricotta, and mozzarella. It reheats well and still tastes fabulous.

French Silk Pie

I found this recipe here.

I made this instead of a cake for my birthday. Not sure why I wasn't feeling cake but really wanted pie. I'm not that big on pie in the first place.

Crust:
I just bought a pre-made chocolate cookie crust

Filling:

• 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup salted butter softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, cold

Whipped cream

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the baking chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.

It is important for the bowl and ingredients to be cold for the next stage of making the filling--to get the right texture and result. In a large chilled bowl with an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

When the melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it over the butter/sugar mixture. Add the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined (on a stand mixer, you will be using the whisk attachment).

Turn your mixer to a medium speed and over a period of 15 to 20 minutes, add in the 4 cold eggs, one at a time, leaving about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Once the pie filling is well mixed, pour it into the baked pie shell, scraping every last speck of it out of the bowl. Smooth out the pie filling and place the pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours (preferably longer).

 

P.S. Your hand will be tired after this but your tummy will be happy.

Chicken Shawarma

I got this recipe from MyRecipes. It's almost as good as Olive House' recipe. If you don't have enough chicken, you can always substitute pork or turkey. I haven't tried with recipe with beef. Beef may require different spices.

Shawarma is traditionally cooked on a skewer cut in strips that are very thin and rolled in a pita (much like gyro). A much easier at-home method is to cut the meat into really small pieces and cook on the stove or in the oven. I have adjusted the original recipe format to fit this.

Chicken: 

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1 teaspoon chili powder 

2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 garlic cloves, minced (the stuff in a store-bought shaker works fine)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 16 (3-inch) strips (or small cubes. I personally think the smaller the better.)

Sauce:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons tahini

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 garlic clove, minced (fresh or out of the jar is best)

 

Toppings:

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Onions

Olives

Hummus

Preparation:

1. To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
2. To prepare sauce, combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients, stirring with a whisk.
3. Pour a couple tablespoons olive oil into a skillet and preheat. Sautee chicken until cooked through. (roughly 7 minutes)
4. Lightly toast pita bread in a toaster oven/convectional oven, or on a clean frying pan on the stove.
5. Top pita bread (or stuff it, depends on the pita bread) with desired toppings and sauce. I recommend tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, hummus, or olives. Lettuce is not really a Mediterranean thing, so it's okay to skip it. Experiment and see what you like!