Chocolate Marble Pound Cake

This is a great recipe I found at www.godairyfree.org . I love the So Delicious line of coconut milk products and we use them frequently in our house. I'm always afraid of web pages disappearing, so I'm copying the recipe here, but you can go to the page here to see the original page with recipe. The only changes I made where adding a touch of salt and adding options for the fat (coconut oil or ghee) and eliminating a step or two in the directions (I'm all about simplifying and creating less dirty dishes when possible!).

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
⅔ cup So Delicious Dairy Free Original Almond Plus Almond Milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup dairy-free margarine (or coconut oil or ghee)
1½ cups cane sugar
¾ cup So Delicious Dairy Free Plain Cultured Coconut Milk (Yogurt)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat together dairy-free margarine with sugar until light and creamy. Add the coconut milk yogurt and vanilla extract and mix well. Add half the flour mixture, mix, then add the almond milk, mix again, and finally end with the remaining flour mixture until combined. Remove 1/2 cup of the batter to a small bowl and mix in the cocoa powder to make a small amount of chocolate batter. Pour vanilla cake batter into the prepared pan, then scoop the chocolate batter on top. Use a knife or skewer or chopstick to swirl batter lightly. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool. Cake can be stored covered for 2-3 days at room temp, or 5-6 days in the fridge. Makes 10 slices.

Kalua Pig (Crockpot)

Busy day? Start this in the morning and it will be nearly ready when you get home. Add a little cabbage, cook a little rice, wait 30 minutes and dinner is DONE!

1 (3ish lb) pork roast
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped
Hot cooked rice

Prick fork all over with tines of a fork, piercing the meat. Rub salt over entire roast, paying attention to the holes. Rub roast with liquid smoke. Place roast in the crockpot and cook on low for 10 hours. During last 30 minutes of cooking add half a head of cabbage that's roughly chopped. Serve over hot, cooked rice.

Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Coconut Pecan Frosting

This is a great, simple cake that reminds me of a cross between a butter cake and Magic Bars. So good!!!

1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal

3/4 cups boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 cup of shortening

In a small bowl, combine oatmeal and boiling water. Give it a stir and cover it and let it sit for about 15 minutes to absorb the water. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the remaining ingredients together, then stir in the oatmeal. Pour into a greased & floured 8x8 pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

3 tbsp melted shortening, coconut oil, or ghee

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped nuts

2 tbsp rice milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

While cake is baking, combine the frosting ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Spread over hot cake. Turn oven to 'broil' and broil the cake just until the coconut turns golden brown. You have to keep a close eye on it...it will brown wicked fast. Remove from oven and cool before slicing.

There is Life After Spaghetti-O's

Close to two years ago, I ran across a recipe on a blog I stalk  read MSPI Mama. She had figured out how to recreate Spaghetti-Os! My son was immediately in heaven...lol. I follow her recipe, making sure to add the nutritional yeast and I also add 1 Tbsp sugar to the pot. It gives it that slight sweetness that spaghetti-o's have. For those who don't know, nutritional yeast is a powerhouse of a food...it's super rich in B vitamins, and it just so happens to have a slightly cheesy, nutty flavor. It's awesome to add to dishes that need a little cheesy flavor boost. Your local natural foods store should carry it.

With no further ado... here is the Spaghetti-O's recipe on MSPI Mama's blog....

Magic Bars

Magic Bars are...well...Magic! Some call them 7 Layer Bars or Hello Dollys, but I grew up calling them Magic Bars. You will need a prepared recipe of Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk (see previous post) for this recipe.

1/2 c shortening, coconut oil, or ghee
2 c safe graham cracker crumbs
Flaked coconut
Safe semi sweet chocolate chips
Chopped nuts of choice
anything else your heart desires as toppings...
1 recipe Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Add shortening to a 9x13 pan, and put in the oven to melt the shortening. Remove pan from oven and swirl melted shortening to distribute evenly in the pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs evenly over the melted shortening and press lightly to form a crust. Add a handful or two each of flaked coconut, safe chocolate chips, chopped nuts, chopped MSPI safe candy bars, dried fruit, whatever you like. Just distribute toppings evenly over the crust. Pour the sweetened condensed coconut milk evenly over the top of everything, making sure to coat the top as much as possible (paying attention to the edges too). Bake for about 30 minutes or so, until the edges are golden brown and bubbly and the top is light brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting into bars. They will fall apart if you cut them when hot.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

There are so many times you go to make a dessert and need sweetened condensed milk... I used to use it quite a bit. So...here's a safe version!!!

Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk

1 (14 oz) can coconut milk (full-fat)
1/2 c granulated sugar

In a medium pot, bring the coconut milk to a boil, stirring frequently. Watch closely, because once it starts to boil, it will boil over in a heartbeat. Turn heat down so the coconut milk is simmering and stir in the sugar, whisking until it's completely dissolved. Allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes, until the volume is reduced by half. Remove from heat and cool completely before using in recipes. Store in fridge in a covered container. It should last a week or more.

Grandma Tolman

There is a dish we refer to as "Grandma Tolman". No, we do not cook and eat our Grandma Tolman, rather it is a dish she frequently made, and therefore the dish was dubbed Grandma Tolman. It's a cross between fried potatoes and potato soup.

Grandma Tolman

1/4 lb bacon, cut in pieces (I usually use a little more bacon than this...shhhh don't tell!)
1 or 2 onions, thinly sliced
2 or 3 lbs potatoes, thinly sliced
Water
Salt & Pepper

In a heavy bottomed pot, cook bacon on medium to medium high heat, until bacon is crisp. Remove bacon (set aside) but leave grease in the pot. To the hot grease, add alternating layers of potatoes and onions, filling up the pot as much as you wish (easy to make a lot or a little of this dish!). Cook on medium high for several minutes before stirring...you want the potatoes and onions on the bottom to brown a bit. Stir it up and then let sit again to brown the new layer on the bottom. After you've browned a few "layers" of potatoes, add water to the pot to just barely, barely cover the potatoes. Cover pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes and onions are tender. Season with salt and pepper, and add bacon back to the pot.