Category Archives: Food

Sugarless Chocolate Coconut Hash

Posted on by
Reply
Sugarless chocolate coconut hash

Sugarless chocolate coconut hash

I wanted to do a stevia-sweetened dessert for Pesach. The Bean was being a whiner and the Sprout was all about adding to the vocal cacophony – so I whipped together this delicious bit of chocolate and coconut products and it turned out great. I used three squares of unsweetened baking chocolate. No, it wasn’t organic or free trade (it was a madhouse and I was reduced to using what was on hand in my cupboards). Add one tablespoon organic liquid Stevia and two tablespoons of coconut oil. Melt together on low heat in a sauce pan, stirring frequently. Once you have fully melted the ingredients, dump one cup of shredded unsweetened organic coconut in the pan. Fully incorporate. I spread the mixture out on a sheet of wax paper and refrigerated till cold.

Seder Hash

Seder Hash


After being refrigerated it was easy to break into small pieces. This treat is SO easy and an incredibly decadent treat….

Personalizing a Store-Bought Birthday Cake

Posted on by
Reply

caketopperrm

So this weekend we celebrated my sister’s birthday. I was asked to bring a cake to serve 40+. Normally I would have totally made the whole thing myself, but between a 3 year old wild-child and an attention-gobbling 5 week old I opted for a store-bought cake. A Costco cake, to be exact. However, I didn’t want to be completely generic as I knowingly poisoned people with toxic processed butter cream and commercial food dyes…. So I made a gum paste cake topper to individualize the cake….

Gum paste lady

Gum paste lady


My sister is an aires, and she’s considered somewhat of a goddess in her circles, so…..how about a nekkid gum paste Aries goddess. Yes! That’s it! I used pieces of lollypop sticks cut to size to support the arms and head onto the body. I used a paint brush and food dye to paint the color on the hair, horns and nipples.
Oh Boy!
chrissycakerm

Garden spillover? Tomato Powder!

Posted on by
1
Tomato preservation options

Tomato preservation options

We’ve all done it. Planted two or three tomato plants and then suddenly, mid-summer, we have tomatoes coming out of our ears! Here’s another method of preserving your herculean grow efforts – Tomato Powder!
At the height of ripeness dehydrate thinly sliced tomatoes in large batches. The pictured tomato products were made from Amish Paste tomatoes; a super-tasty heirloom variety. The tomato slices need to be particularly dried. On their own they can later be reconstituted in water or oil for various applications.

Dehydrated slices of Amish Paste tomatoes

Dehydrated slices of Amish Paste tomatoes


With a blender, food-processor or (in this case) a Magic Bullet process the dried slices into powder. Reconstitute small amounts of the power for sauces, pastes or just to add rich tomato flavors to other dishes.
The variegated shades of powder in the jar pictured below is caused from the variety of dried tomato batches used in the powdering process.
Tomato Powder made from multiple batches of dried tomatoes

Tomato Powder made from multiple batches of dried tomatoes


A jar of home-grown tomato powder makes a nice gift as well…