22.11.11

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake - makes one 9" cake (found here)

1 cup milk, at room temp
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon guar gum (can find in specialty food stores and it's cheap!)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze:
1 cup 33% cream (whipping cream)
110 g unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons honey

To make cake:
Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Lightly spray a 9 inch round cake pan with oil. You can also use a 10" bundt  pan, but I don't have one of those ;)
Whisk together milk and coffee in a large bowl, until coffee has completely dissolved. Whisk in eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and guar gum, then add to milk mixture. Whisk well. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake in centre of oven until a skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean, about 25- 30 minutes. Allow cake to cool in pan, completely, on a wire rack before inverting onto a cake plate.

To make glaze:
Heat cream in a small saucepan until almost comes to a boil. Add chocolate and stir until just melted. Stir in honey. Drizzle over top of cake. Enjoy!

2.11.11

Coconut Chicken Soup

Found here - need to try!

72 ounces of chicken (about 12 6 oz raw chicken breasts)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
dried coriander, star anise seed, chili garlic paste, dried chillies (to taste)
a bag of slivered carrots (2 cups)

Roughly cube your chicken. Melt the coconut oil in a large frying pan. Add the sesame oil, chicken and spices. Allow to brown. Midway through, add your slivered carrots. Once the chicken is cooked, set the pan aside.

In a large pot, combine:
3 cans coconut milk
1 head of broccoli, chopped
2 cubed zucchinis
3 cans water chestnuts
1 chopped red pepper
1 container (2 cups) sliced mushrooms
2 cups or so of bean sprouts
fish sauce (a good couple of glugs or more)
chili garlic paste (however much, depending on the amount of heat you like)
1 tbsp sesame oil

Cover, bring to a boil, drop heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add in your chicken mixture and allow to simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add:
The juice of two limes
Chopped fresh cilantro.