Chunky Apple Coconut Cake

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Apple season has begun.  I love fresh, crisp apples.  At my farmer's market, the same orchard farmer who has the most delicious, juicy peaches every summer starts apple season with fabulous ginger gold apples in late summer.  This year he had lots of second apples because of hurricane Irene.  Did you know that the east coast had an earthquake (unheard of) and a hurricane in one week.  The area was already saturated with water and flooding was guaranteed.  There was more concern about trees falling over because of ground saturation than high winds and I am sure both happened, but luckily not in my backyard.  During both of these events I was in Houston where there was no rain, no wind, the ground was stable and the fires has not started yet.  It was a good time to be out of town but I was a little sad I missed the earthquake because it was such and unusual event for my area.  The hurricane I can do without.  I like electricity and hot water and I have had enough rain.

Morning Glory Muffins

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Muffins.  Most muffins are too much like cake for me.  They seem more like a treat than breakfast.  I like hearty for breakfast.  Nutritious helps.  Foods like homemade granola with plain yogurt, oatmeal made with steel cut oats,  hot cereals made with a multi-grain cereal or a whole grain slice of toast with some delicious jam or fruit spread on it.  These are the types of breakfast foods that make me feel good and gets me going.  Of all the muffins I have made and tried, Morning Glory Muffins are presently my favorite.  How can you really go wrong with a name like that?!

I searched for the healthiest Morning Glory Muffin recipe I could find and then started tweaking. I am very happy with the results and am sad to say not one made it to the freezer.  Nutrient dense recipes that taste good become staples in my recipe files.  I like the phrase "nutrient dense".  It is a concept we can all live by, literally. 

Chunky, Healthy and Delicious.

Even though I love hearty, healthy recipes, I do want to be true to what foods are suppose to be.  Cookies are supposed to taste like cookies,  cakes taste like cakes and so on.  Healthy only goes so far and then the recipe is nothing like it is supposed to be or something else entirely.  I am  not willing to give up all purpose flour or white sugar because they have their place in baking when you are trying to achieve a certain texture and/or taste which for me is also important.

Coconut Bread

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This post was my first post on HonestCooking.com March 15, 2011.  I am very proud and honored to be contributing to this food magazine site that is headed by Kalle Bergman.  It has a flavor I have not seen before.  Go see for yourself and check it out.

On March 1, I was reading a New York Times article on coconut oils, Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World, which was stating how vegans and persons with specific dietary needs  had been using virgin coconut oil to make cakes and cake frosting, pie crusts, baked goods and sautes to achieve better quality and flavor.  It also mentioned that coconut oil is not the villain that it has been made out to be.  It was the hydrogenated version, along with all the other hydrogenated oils that have been produced, that was really bad for you.  Coconut oil got really picked on and tossed out of the party. There are other sources that suggest virgin coconut oil is a healthy oil and that societies that use them heavily in their diets do not have higher levels of heart disease than areas that consume a western diet like in the US, they are actually lower.  There have been some long term studies in the US that concluded coconut oil does not increase heart disease.  There is a lot of interesting science behind these results.  I think this is all fascinating since we have been told to stay away from these foods because they are evil and they will kill you. I should be enthralled, but instead of pondering this interesting nutritional information (info on saturated fats not being so bad for you has been coming out slowly for several years now), I had an epiphany, OK just an aha moment. Maybe coconut oil is exactly what that coconut bread that I made 7 to 10 years ago needed.  It was very lackluster in taste and I was soooo disappointed.  Would coconut oil add that extra level of flavor so the bread would taste like coconut, because why make a coconut bread that doesn't really taste like coconut?  That seems like wasted calories to me.

Amazingly. I knew exactly which cookbook of mine had the recipe (I have a few cookbooks!) and went right to it and then to the store for unrefined, virgin coconut oil.  It is now apparent that I never really gave up on this bread recipe, even though I should have after the first try.  It was really not good.  Maybe coconut has a "special place in my heart" and it was meant to be!

Blondies, Brownie's alter ego!

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 If you don't like chocolate then you are probably tired of hearing people swoon over brownies and chocolate desserts.  I like brownies a lot and chocolate.  So I am not knocking them, absolutely not, but we have a family member that is not that crazy about chocolate and given a choice, doesn't eat it.  This pushes me to find other desserts.  Blondies are the yin to brownies yang.  Brownie's alter ego?  Too profound?  How about they are gooey and chewy just like brownies but without chocolate (unless you add a few chips like I did here).  Sort of like a gooey butter cake but actually a bar cookie or blond brownies.  Do blonds really have more fun? (yes, I said that)  Let's find out.

One Cup Cookies

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One cup cookies.  Sounds simple.  And it is.  Or rather they are.  Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies.  They were invented in America and are an undeniably American cookie.  They are not my favorite, not even in the top 5.  Shocking, I know.  I usually like a cookie with more bite and texture.  I like to add a little fiber and nutrition into the cookies when possible by adding a couple of tablespoons of wheat germ or oat bran.  No need to go overboard here because well . . . they are cookies.  And it would be nice if they tasted like cookies.  So this recipe for One Cup Cookies is what I consider my version of chocolate chip cookies because they have chocolate chips in them.  That simple minded approach can keep one blissfully happy. Yup.

I have to say I really love this cookie.  I am not sure if they are my favorite, but when I make them I can't stop eating them.  I made them over Halloween to keep everyone from eating too much leftover candy.  It sort of worked.  I cannot remember where this recipe came from but I am sure it was from a magazine or newspaper many years ago. In an early attempt to get organized, I actually took the time to type this recipe up along with a few others although I didn't think the source information was important at the time.  Yes, I have made these cookies a few times.  You may be asking why are they called One Cup Cookies?  Well, it is because the main measuring tool is a dry cup measure.