Flourless Chocolate Banana Cake (Gluten Free)

I for one am not a huge chocolate fan. I could go months without chocolate; but my husband loves chocolate! Lately he has been wanting chocolate cake with ice cream every evening. He has devoured the Vegan Chocolate Cake that I posted last week so here is another new one for him to try.

The cake is Gluten Free but not Vegan (contains eggs) but is Dairy-Free!!!

This recipe is from an awesome lady, Elana Amsterdam. She lives in Boulder and is the author of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. Check out her blog: Elana's Pantry.

Serves 4-6

Elana suggests topping this cake with whipped cream or sliced bananas.

I suggest topping it with a Vegan Chocolate or Vanilla frosting!

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

In a blender, whip the egg yolks, agave nectar, and salt on medium for one to two minutes. Add the grapeseed oil and banana, and blend for another minute or two. Blend in the cocoa powder. In a bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold the contents of the blender into the egg whites. Pour the batter into a greased, 9 -inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Vegan Tofu Lasagna

I am making this for dinner tonight so I will let you know how it turns out. I have been craving lasagna but with all the cheeses it takes to make it I needed a good alternative. Whole Foods posted this in their recipes and it got great reviews. Check out some of their other recipes: Whole Foods Market

Ingredients

Natural cooking spray
1 (14-ounce) package firm tofu, drained
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic granules
Salt and pepper to taste
2 (25-ounce) jars vegan marinara sauce
3 bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped
12 no-boil dried lasagna noodles

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a (9- x 13-inch) baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Wrap tofu in 3 or 4 layers of paper towels and gently press out as much water as possible, changing the paper towels once or twice as needed. Transfer tofu to a large bowl and add yeast, garlic, salt and pepper and mash with a fork. Set tofu mixture aside. Put marinara sauce into a medium pot and bring to a simmer. Add peppers and continue simmering until tender, about 10 minutes.

Spoon enough marinara sauce into prepared dish to cover the bottom and then arrange 4 noodles on top. Spread one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles and then spoon more sauce over the tofu. Repeat the process 2 more times, ending with sauce. Cover with foil and bake until noodles are tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes and then serve.

*** Side Note: if you just wanted to go dairy free but not all vegan you could add ground turkey, beef, buffalo, etc to this!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

This is posted on our family blog but I wanted it here for reference as well. I made this again tonight and didn't feel like making the frosting so we just ate it plain and of course it was amazing! Best thing is because my husband really likes cookie dough and cake batter he can eat this without the risk of salmonella (even though they say it is a 1 in 20000 chance!), why risk it!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 3/4 cup sugar or other sweetener
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Baking soda
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 cup cold water
• 
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a bowl and stir with a fork until mixed. Make a well in the center and add the vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water. Stir with a fork until well mixed. Pour into a 9x9-inch baking dish (or cupcake pan), and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely, then frost with Chocolate Cream Frosting (optional!)

Chocolate Cream Frosting

Makes enough for one 9-inch cake or 8 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoon softened margarine (Earth Balance)
• 1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-4 tablespoons water
• 
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cream the margarine in a small bowl then add the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and enough water to make a thick but spreadable frosting.

Salmon Loaf

My mom made this growing up and when I made it for Kevin during our first year of marriage he loved it! Salmon can be pricey but when you find a good deal this recipe is worth making!

• 1 (14.75 ounce) can salmon, undrained
• 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the salmon, cracker crumbs, milk, egg, salt, pepper, and melted butter. Mix thoroughly.
3. Press the salmon mixture into a lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes or until done.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I am not usually a fan of cream soups but some really yummy comfort foods call for them. Since going dairy-free I have cut all of the cream soups out of my diet but lately I have been craving Tator Tot Casserole. Both of our moms made this growing up and when we need a good reminder of home we put this meal on our menu.

SO.... this week Tator Tot Casserole is on the menu. One problem though.

Cream of Mushroom Soup....

I started looking for an alternative. Google has everything! Love that.

Here is my adaption from a fellow blogger, her blog is called "Must Follow Recipes: except for dairy, eggs, and peanuts" (click here to check it out).

*** this makes 1 cup of soup ***

Heat 1 1/4 cup lactaid milk (soy milk, rice milk, etc), don't let it boil but get it hot

Saute

3 TBS earth balance (or any butter sub)

1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped

1 TBS onion, chopped

Whisk

3 TBS flour

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of pepper

Combine all ingredients into milk pan and stir constantly until bubbly. It should become a creamy texture just like the canned stuff. As it cools it will get thicker so plan for that in your thickness measurement.

THEN... just in case you need a good easy Tator Tot Casserole Recipe here it is:

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground turkey (can use beef or any other ground meat)

small onion, chopped

1 cup green beans

1 cup cream of mushroom soup (homemade of course!)

1 bag tator tots

Directions:

* brown meat with onions

* mix meat, onions, green beans, and soup together and place in the bottom of an 8x8 pan

* layer tator tots on top to cover full area of casserole

* bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 mins or until bubbly

I often make this the night before and it is an easy casserole to throw in the oven after work. Makes for great leftovers too!

Gyros and Tzatziki Sauce

We love homemade Gyros (correct pronunciation is year-o, not ji-ro) When you can find the meat on sale (usually at Sunflower) they are super easy and cheap to make. Gyro is lamb meat and make sure to check the package and brand to ensure you are getting something that is good quality for your family. Here is easy Gyro making instructions and a recipe for homemade dairy-free Tzatziki Sauce!

Instructions:

buy Gyro meat - whole wheat pitas - 1 onion - 1 cucumber - and ingredients for Tzatziki sauce (see below)

Slice onion thinly and place in a skillet with gyro meat. Cook until onions are soft and meat starts to lightly brown. Slice cucumber thin and fill pitas with cucumber, meat, onions and sauce.

TZATZIKI SAUCE (dairy-free)

• 2 ½ cups plain soy yogurt, such as Silk
• 1 ½ cup peeled and chopped cucumber
• 1 T. salt
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 t. minced garlic
• 2 T. chopped fresh dill

mix all ingredients together and chill

*side note* if you want the yogurt to be thicker

you can strain it over a cheesecloth but I have

never seen the need for this extra step for ours.

Almond Burgers

I have posted this recipe before on our cooking club blog. However we love it so much that I wanted to post it here as well. We just had this for dinner tonight and it is easily one of our favorites!

Almond Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 cup finely ground almonds
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 carrot, minced
• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame-seed paste)
• 1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

* optional: add some oats or rice to help them stick together *

makes enough for 6 burgers

Directions

1. Preheat the oven broiler. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the almonds, onion, carrot, tahini, tamari sauce, and lemon juice. Form into 6 patties and place on baking sheet.
3. Broil burgers 5 minutes, then turn and broil the other side another 5 minutes. Watch to make sure the burgers don't burn. Remove, and garnish as desired.