We don't do this often but every now and then we get to craving them.  Ours were made with an egg batter.  This recipe (with bread crumbs)  is more like the old A & W onion rings which are seared into my taste memories.  Must be eaten with root bear in a mug however and is not as adaptable to alternative flours.

1 egg
1 c. milk
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt

Beat egg and stir in milk. Add sifted dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Dip chicken or onion rings in batter. Fry in fat heated to 365 degrees. Cook meaty pieces first for 15 minutes. Fry backs and wings about 13 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

"My Grandma Ableman always called this her 'depression' cake because that's the year she she tried the recipe and because many of the times she made it my Father ran through the door causing the cake to fall!" 

This is how Mary Ann Behn tells the story of this cake in the church cookbook handed down to me when I got married.  I have shared before that I not the most highly skilled chef on the planet.  Speed, nutrition and quantity speak to me most in a recipe.  My go-to recipes rarely come from Barefoot Contessa's, svelte tv cooks, nor anyone named Julia. : )  More often than not they come scribbled on index cards.  They were shared by women who favored tightly set hair made just so in these: 

…women who sported loose button down blouses worn over polyester pants and tie shoes, more often than not with plastic framed glasses to boot.   They would not be considered fashionable by today's standards, nor particularly savvy about gourmet cuisine. They were more concerned about how to use up all that extra zucchini. They knew well how to fill a lot of plates and how to secure happy smiles from those around their tables. 

This cake has appeared in my kitchen regularly in recent months since it is cheap and easy to make and lends itself well to adapting to coconut flour.  I will give you the original directions along with my modifications:

Depression Cocoa Cake 

1c. sugar

1 egg

1c. coffee or sour milk (it comes out fine with water or reg milk too) 

1/3 c. cocoa

1tsp. soda

1/2 c. shortening (I use veg oil)

1/2 tsp salt

1 and 1/2c. flour (I use 3/4 c. coconut flour) 

"Cream sugar and shortening.  Beat in the egg.  Alternately stir in dry ingredients and the liquid.  Sour milk makes a richer cake and coffee makes it a darker chocolate. Makes one layer or  an 8×8 pan. Bake at 350 until the middle is done."

Those are the 'official' instructions.  Here is the way its done here. I have never made the single recipe but always double it. An 8×8 pan is just a teaser here.  I mix the whole mess together, often right in the baking pan, call it good and throw it in the oven.  Because why? Because I am NOT the most skilled chef on the planet remember?  ; )   And, I often have someone in need of a diaper or bandaid or homework help or a sit in the rocking chair and it usually trumps creaming and folding.   Maybe there will come a day when no one is having a disaster during cake making.  That day is not this one, but I am not waiting until then for chocolate.  Nuh, uh.  

Now for the flourless part.  If you use coconut flour, only use half the amount of flour called for.  It will make a marvelously light cake that melts in your mouth.   I have not tried it any other way so you will have to tell me how it works out if you use other flours. 

After the little ones were in bed last night Alannah and I decided to play around with this white cupcake recipe.  It was a choice based primarily on ingredient availability – decidedly slim pickings this weekend!  The purpose was process as much as finished product though.  

Joy of Baking does such a good job of teaching the vocabulary and technique, as well as having well-tested recipes.  Last night we hit the finer points of combination method and piped buttercream frosting made with actual butter vs the shortening the Wilton class used.  We plan to use the site regularly in coming weeks to hone skills and grow the recipe collection. Certain small people are exceptionally supportive of the venture.  

One week left in the first course.  Here are some of the projects so far.  I am so pleased that the girls were able to hold their own in the class and master the techniques. This is the kind of real life work I love. 

For years this has been THE cookie for our family as evidenced by the stained cookbook page.  With wheat germ and oats it almost seemed like a health food rather than a treat.  There were times in my life I could have likely sustained myself rather entirely on LLL oatmeal cookies if I had to.  At least in my grain eating days. 

After going some time without a gas grill we are enjoying Allen's birthday gift of same immensely.  As a rule we eat very simply around here.  Natural and generally unadorned foods grace the table most often. The girls and I have been motivated to improve our game a bit in this area, especially since Allen is traveling very rarely now and has no restaurant respite. <g>  While simple is still the rule, we are playing around with old standbys.  This was such a dinner, a Mexican twist on burgers and fries.

Green Chili Cheeseburgers

• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
• 1 clove garlic crushed and finely minced
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black or seasoned pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground chile mild
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 slices Monterey Jack cheese or 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend of cheeses
• 4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped mild green chili peppers, drained
• 4 large slices sweet onion
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• 4 leaves lettuce, romaine or your favorite
• chunky salsa, fresh or good purchased salsa

Preparation:

Mix lean ground beef with garlic, pepper, ground chile, and salt in a large bowl. Shape into 4 flat patties. Preheat broiler or grill, then cook burgers about 4 inches from heat, turning when halfway done. Cook until very little or no pink remains. Just before serving, place a slice of cheese or grated cheese on each burger. Top each bun with a hamburger patty and cheese, green chile peppers, an onion slice, tomato slice, and lettuce leaf. Serve burgers with a dish of salsa on the side.
Serves 4.  (We added sliced cheese at the end vs in the middle of the patties and we multiplied the recipe obviously ; ))

Chili Lime Gold Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons finely grated lime rind
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 4 large Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1/4 cup finely grated Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, optional
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, optional
• Salsa and sour cream for dipping, optional

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil or spray liberally with vegetable oil. 

Place lime rind, lime juice, oil, chili powder,garlic powder, and onion powder in a large zip-top bag. Squish around in the bag until combined. 
Scrub potatoes and dry. Cut in half lengthwise. Continue cutting halves lengthwise into wedges about 1/2-inch thick. Add potato wedges to the oil in the zip-top bag, seal, and toss to coat. 
Place potatoes on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with grated Monterey Jack or cheddar. Return to oven and bake an additonal 10 minutes or until cheese is golden. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. 

That is the 'official' recipe, but as I have confessed before I don't follow directions well. <g> We added the cilantro to the bag itself.  And instead of topping with cheese we served the potatoes with queso dipping sauce on the side. 

Mexican Green Beans

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 pound green beans, fresh, trimmed and cut in half
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Place the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the onion and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Cook for about 2-3 minutes more. Add the water, salt, and green beans. Stir. Cover and lower to medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes or until done. Stir in the cilantro.

Now very honestly, since I am the laziest chef on the planet and usually there are people sticking beans up their nose or feeding the dog my ingredients while I cook I didn't do all that.  I pretty much threw it all together with frozen green beans vs fresh, simmered a long time, and it was way better than our usual plain beans. If you actually follow the directions you could certainly expect to have much more success than I.  : )  

Ok – still reading?  I just go on and on, don't I?  But really, don't miss the cheesecake.  Never miss the cheesecake. I worked hard on this one.  

Citrus Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a hands-down favorite in our family.  It is a dessert I can enjoy as well since it is largely flour free, especially if I make a small crustless one in a ramekin or the like for myself.  Honestly, this is probably THE best cheesecake we have made.  I should add though that we prefer a dense, New York style cheesecake.  None of the recipes we have found have delivered til this one.  I have made a couple changes to the recipe linked so will copy it here the way we made it. 

CRUST  (Again different from that linked.  We use this basic crust most often but this time Moira doubled the butter accidentally which is why it looks funky in the photo.  Didn't seem to slow anyone down however.)

1/3 c softened butter

1/3c sugar

1 egg

1 1/4c flour

 Mix well and press into bottom of the pan.  Bake at 425 for 5 min. Cool and fill. 

FILLING 
4 – 8-ounce packages Neufchatel cream cheese, at room temperature 

8 oz ricotta
1 3/4 cups sugar 
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
Finely grated zest of 1 orange 
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon 
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
5 large eggs 
2 large egg yolks 
1/4 cup heavy cream 

Beat the cream cheese and ricotta in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, flour, salt, zests, and vanilla and beat until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating only until thoroughly incorporated, about 15 seconds after each. Beat for another 30 seconds. On low speed, beat in the heavy cream. Scrape the mixture into the pan and smooth the top. 
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour longer; the top will
be golden brown. Cool to room temperature on a rack. Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 6 hours; overnight is best.  Unless you are as likely as I am to find an unattended cheesecake missing large sections of itself by morning…..

My friend Barb shared this article with me this week which asks us to consider whether we are intolerant to certain foods or if we are preparing them incorrectly. The author explains how modern food preparation fails to neutralize naturally occurring toxins.  His position is similar to Sally Fallon's, which originated from Weston Price. His bottom line?  Slow food is best. Soaking and fermenting help make food more digestible and remove mineral-blocking phytates. Raw is not always better. (this is also a position taken by macrobiotics) And finally, the current trend to eliminate more and more food groups may not be the wisest solution to all ills – an assertion also made by Adelle Davis some decades ago. 

We have been putting our heads together in recent weeks about how to tweak our thriftiness even further.  Part of the motivation is Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.  As in, we are trying to have one. Food is a major expense here and it is always worth revisiting to see where we might have leaks in the budget. 

The Inspired Home has inspired me. I have walked past some fall themed cookie cutters and molds several times in recent weeks. Enough! We are getting some. I have the garlands up but I want to get some seasonal towels and placemats. Actually we will likely make the mats. Seasonal fabric is cheap and turning the seams under with a running stitch would make excellent handwork. Yes, I am talking to myself…..

Anyway, these simple practices – switching out the linens and swapping the baking shapes seasonally- are easy customs to keep up. They also allow for lots of hands on work for little people. I far prefer to have our projects be worth doing than construction paper projects doomed for the circular file.

You know I am not a foodie. I try to make an effort here and there though since there are a lot of people who eat in my house. My friend Cheryle sent us this site which looks promising. The author has committed to using her crockpot every day for a year. And has! There are a variety of recipes from main dish to dessert to even shrinky dinks. I think we will try the Cheddar Apple Turkey Meatballs first since they sound like they would be as tasty as the Adell’s Chicken Apple Sausages I am addicted to. Only quibble is that my family is not particularly fond of mixing sweet and savory ingredients and there is a lot of that here.