Quiche

     If you keep up with my blog, you know that I normally have my parents over for lunch after church on Sundays.  Today was a little different and it was just J.T., Otis, and I.  Since I wasn’t serving a crowd, I decided to keep things simple with a brunch inspired meal.  We ate quiche, fresh asparagus, which I picked up from the farmer’s market yesterday morning, and sweet potato banana muffins.  It was delicious and a nice break from our regular Sunday meal.  We have had a much needed, lazy weekend after a very busy week at work.  Yesterday we only ventured out twice, hitting the farmer’s market and Publix in the morning and Manna grocery during the afternoon.  We went to Manna to purchase local honey from Duncanville and left with three pounds of it!   J.T. and I both suffer from allergies, although J.T.’s allergies are normal and mine are just plain weird.  Let me first state that I have been to two different doctors about this issue and both are clueless.  When it is humid outside or about to rain my skin becomes very itchy, generally only my forearms, neck, ears, face, and scalp.  It is awful but I do not scratch because I have been told by my dermatologist that this could cause a rash.  When the itching becomes unbearable I take a prescription antihistamine, which allows me to sleep and puts me out of my misery.  I am not convinced that the antihistamine actually does anything to calm my allergic reaction.  I also have a prescription steroid cream, but this only helps temporarily.  While I am uncertain of my allergy, it is either an airborne allergy or some form of an allergic reaction to a chemical in one of my cleaning products or cosmetic items.  To make a long story short, I am in the process of eliminating as many possible culprits of my allergy from our house.  It is actually very similar to when we started our “real food” journey nine months ago.  This morning I ordered this cleaning solution for our household needs.   Many customer reviews of Branch Basics claimed that it helped with seasonal allergies and eczema (which J.T. struggles with).  Several weeks ago, I changed our laundry detergent to Molly’s Suds and we absolutely love this product, especially the smell.  My next big hurdle is tackling my cosmetic items, which is a giant headache.  Yesterday at Manna I picked up Everyday Coconut body lotion, a product my mother told me about a while ago.  After slathering myself in this lotion, my itching has decreased.  I am learning and just like I changed our food, I too can do this.  In the words of my brother, I have gone hippie. 

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, plus additional for greasing the pie plate
• 2 eggs, preferably local
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup coconut flour

Filling:

• 5 eggs, preferably local
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped

Directions

1. Grease a 9-inch pie plate with coconut oil.  In a medium bowl whisk together the coconut oil, eggs, and kosher salt.  Stir in the coconut flour.  Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie plate. Set aside.
2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.  Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust.  Sprinkle the scallions on top.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Serves 4. 

Coconut Cake – Happy Birthday Daddy!

    Although I have no idea why, I hated coconut as a child.  My brother and mother were not big fans of it either, but my dad loved it.  Every year someone in our family makes my dad a coconut cake for his birthday.  Many years, my aunt would be the one to do this.  However, over the last few years, as my love of cooking and baking has grown, I have been the one to make coconut desserts for my dad.  Last year it was a coconut pie and the year before that it was a coconut sheet cake.  This year, I decided to try Ina Garten’s Coconut Cake – a double layer, butter cream frosted cake sprinkled with shredded coconut.  It was a hit.  My dad’s birthday falls the day after Christmas.  We normally have his favorite meal - my mother’s Hamburger Noodle Casserole, Tossed Salad, and Coconut Cake.  The hamburger noodle casserole is a far stretch from a healthy meal, which is the main reason Mama only makes it once a year.  It is made up of egg noodles, ground beef, onions, Campbell’s condensed tomato soup, tomato sauce, and smothered in shredded cheddar cheese.  Coconut Cake was a sweet way to end Dad’s Italian inspired birthday lunch. 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients

For the cake:

·         Coconut oil, for greasing the pans

·         ¾ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

·         2 cups sugar

·         5 large eggs, at room temperature

·         1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

·         3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         ½ teaspoon baking soda

·         ½ teaspoon kosher salt

·         1 cup milk

·         4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:

·         ½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

·         1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature

·         1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

·         1 pound confectioners’ sugar

·         6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1.      To make the cake:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9-inch cake pans with coconut oil.  Line each cake pan with parchment paper and brush the parchment paper with coconut oil.  Dust each parchment paper lined pan with flour.  Set aside.

2.      On medium-high speed, cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, about 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time.  Add the vanilla bean paste.  With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and milk, alternating between the two and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix until the batter is just combined.  Fold in the coconut.  Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans.  Bake for 30 to 35, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Leave the cakes in the pan to cool on a rack for 30 minutes.  Turn the cakes out of the pan and cool completely on rack.     

3.      To make the frosting:  In the bowl of a heavy duty mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla bean paste on low speed.  Very slowly, add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Do not whip the icing. 

4.      To assemble the cake:  Place one layer, top side down, on a flat plate.  Spread the frosting on evenly.  Place the second layer on top of the first layer, top side up.  Frost the top layer and the sides.  Gently press the coconut into the frosting.  Serve the cake at room temperature. 

Cook’s notes:  

·         You may use butter to grease the cake pans, instead of coconut oil.  

·         I used salted butter in the cake batter because that was all I had on hand at the time. 

·         Ina’s original recipe calls for both almond and vanilla extract.  I didn’t feel like paying $5.00 for a tiny bottle of almond extract, so I substituted vanilla bean paste instead.  Vanilla extract may be substituted for vanilla bean paste. 

·         Although I was very unsure about this particular ingredient, I used Bird’s Eye frozen shredded coconut.  I let the coconut defrost overnight in the refrigerator.  The ingredients on the bag were coconut and sugar, so I assumed it was sweetened coconut.  It worked out just fine.  

Easy Coconut Cake

recipe courtesy of cooks.com

Ingredients

• 1 white cake mix
• 1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
• 1 can cream of coconut or 1/2 can coconut milk (not lite)
• 1 lg. container Cool Whip
• 12 oz. pkg. coconut, flaked

Directions

1. Bake white cake according to box instructions. Punch holes in cake with straw or small round object, about 1 inch apart. Pour cream of coconut (or 1/2 can coconut milk) and then condensed milk over holes. Top with Cool Whip and coconut on top.  Refrigerate for 4 hours, then serve.

Note: This recipe is not gluten or dairy free.