Category Archives: Organic Mama Cafe

Feb 23
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Devil’s Food Cake with Chocolate-Orange Buttercream – oh yeah.

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In light of yesterday’s very serious post, I decided today should be more lighthearted and chocolate-filled. Hehe. We all need a little chocolate! As I said in my “Death by Superbowl” post, chocolate is great therapy when you’re feeling stressed (so is sex – but I digress…)

For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to make something divinely chocolate. Chocolate may be the food of the gods but I was looking for something that would make me feel a bit on the wicked side! Also, I wanted something homemade because I’d been to a few too many events recently that sported corn syrup and stabilizer filled desserts. So, I pulled out a recipe I’d used from Epicurious.com years ago and had only made once because of the time and ingredients involved.  The cake was so memorable family members will sometimes say, “Remember when you baked that chocolate cake?” Then, their eyes get misty and they start drooling as they drift away with the memory.

Well, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But, my family does remember the cake and they speak of it fondly. It’s a recipe that takes time – melting chocolate over a double boiler and doing everything from scratch. Although my mom was not above using boxed cakes, she taught us to bake from scratch when we were young. I’ve found it doesn’t really take that much more time (usually) and it definitely tastes better.

The only time this didn’t turn out to be true was when, as a pre-teen, I increased the baking soda in a Texas Sheet Cake from 1 t. to 1 T. You can imagine what a dreadful disaster this turned out to be – especially when I didn’t discover it till the party and couldn’t convince the guests to stop eating it. They all gulped it down with pained expressions while assuring me it was delicious (as though I couldn’t taste it). AAHH!! The mortification!

This cake does take a bit more time than other homemade cakes – maybe because it uses melted chocolate, cocoa nib powder, yogurt & milk & orange zest (you get the picture), but the combination of the ingredients creates a moist, decadent, incredible cake worthy of being called the Devil’s Food. I didn’t use the lavender because it just didn’t sing to me at the time and I didn’t miss it.

So, the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, I left my girls with Rob and borrowed my mother-in-law’s kitchen. My oven has been running hot.

First, I melted the chocolate…

The recipe requires semi-sweet chocolate (I used Valrhona at least 70%+) melted over a double boiler. Mmmm….
Next, I creamed brown sugar with butter, eggs and vanilla – this is my favorite part!
In goes the cooled, melted chocolate. I think I would rather eat the batter than the cake. Well, maybe.  Or, both…
The first set of cake pans – I doubled the recipe for a really tall cake.
The frosting begins with orange zest. Yes, I used organic – no pesticide cake for us!
And, of course, more melted chocolate and a tad bit of Grand Marnier. I could eat it with a spoon!! (wait, I DID eat it with a spoon!)
And, here you can see my GIANT beautiful cake – and my big mistake! I didn’t sift the powdered sugar and it was a little lumpy. No amount of mixing fixed it. But the lumps dissolved and no one complained.

Also – for those of you who know me and my aversion to eating too much sugar or giving it to my girls… We don’t eat stuff like this often, but when we do, I don’t try to recreate the wheel. To me, a cake is supposed to be an occasional, luxurious treat. So, this is a REAL cake made with real sugar, butter, flour etc. I would rather my girls eat this over fake corn syrup filled, shortening covered cake any day. It was incredible – and we ended up giving a lot of it away. After all, what girl really needs a four layer chocolate cake on her counter all week? If I ate it all day for a week, I couldn’t get rid of it!

The original Epicurious recipe is here – but I’ll warn you. I doubled the cake recipe and NOT the frosting but there was still enough frosting for the whole thing. So, if you’re planning to make just a single recipe, you will have leftover frosting. It’s good on graham crackers – or on a spoon if you’re desperate to make it go away!

Great, I may have to break my own rules and make it again. Anyone want to help eat it?

Feb 06
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Rose Hip Syrup

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This morning, I finally made some rose hip syrup. I’d been putting it off because I have a million other things to do – like changing diapers, making meals, cleaning, changing diapers, washing dishes, playing princess and did I mention changing diapers?

But today, my four year old woke up with the look.  You know the one. Slightly puffy eyes, flushed cheeks, chesty cough? Yep. That one. I ran a quick hand across her skin to confirm. Yes. A fever. So, I had to do what parents sometimes have to do – be the bad guy. This morning I was the bad guy because it’s Sunday and she loves going to church to see her friends. Afterward, we usually have lunch with Grandma and Grandpa. But, not today. Boy, was she disappointed. But, I knew I’d made the right decision because she only sniffled for a moment, then crawled right back into bed and snuggled into her blankets.

I spent the rest of the morning making lemonade (fever reducer!), snacks she felt like eating (oatmeal and canteloupe), and toast. Of course, my littlest got a slightly different breakfast since she went to bed sporting signs of the Big “D”. Oh bugger. They’re both sick – and with completely different symptoms!

So, I grabbed my bag of rose hips, which are high in Vitamin C, and threw them in the pan to make some rose hips syrup. It’s pretty easy to make. You just simmer 1/2 c dry rose hips in about 3 cups of water for 45 minutes, strain and add 1 c honey. Stir together and – it’s done. I gave it to my four year old in little teaspoon doses. It’s pretty strong so I might try putting it in her tea next.

Here’s a pic of the syrup. I think mine is much darker than usual because I used a dark honey in it.

Rose hips (if you don’t know) are simply the fruit of the rose bush. They look like little red (or purple) bulbs (here’s a pic). If you have roses and find these pretty little fruits on them, take some time to read about how to use them. As long as you don’t use chemicals on your rose bushes, they should be ok to eat. Just one more thing from your garden that can bring healing to your body.

Who knew the rose could be so useful?

Feb 04
0

Death by Superbowl?

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Today a local morning show posted the following statement/question on Facebook.
“Superbowl can be fun… but if your team loses doctors say it can be deadly. How stressed are you about the game and how will you keep your cool if the “wrong” team wins?”- Smart Family
After I (and several others) stopped laughing and responded with sarcasm about the obviously misplaced priorities that would make someone so upset they’d DIE if their team lost the Superbowl, I thought about the second question SF posted. “What do you do to handle stress in general?”
This is a little more up my alley because in the last few years, I have found that stress tends to affect me profoundly if I am not paying attention to it. We’ve all heard stress can cause all kinds of body ailments from headaches (listen migraine sufferers!), stomach to heart problems. It can also affect a woman’s monthly cycle – causing ovulation to be delayed or just skipped that month. So, what can we do to minimize stress in our lives? Here are some of the things that I’ve found helpful. 
1. Acknowledge, without judgment, you’re feeling stressed. This is harder than you think. Americans in particular feel that we should be able to go and go and go without rest. After all, we have the technology to burn the candle at both ends and squeeze every drop out of our day. For some reason, it feels good to schedule every minute so full we don’t have time to think or attend to the more spiritual aspects of ourselves.
2. Get off the crazy ride for a moment and STOP what you’re doing. If you don’t stop, you probably won’t figure out what it is that’s got you feeling like your heart is going to squeeze out the top of your throat (or what’s making your head hurt etc). Give yourself the freedom to take time to rest your brain and then ask yourself, “Is everything in my schedule really necessary? Or can something slide?”
Just a note about scheduling life…When I was in my early twenties, I went to a seminar where author, Dr. Richard Swenson, gave a session on his book, Margin. The concept was simple. We tend to pack our days 100% full of activity, often barely giving ourselves enough time to race from one appointment to the next. Then, when something unexpected happens (as it usually does) or if a friend needs help, we melt down down because there’s no margin in our schedule to handle it.  His suggestion? Fill your schedule only 80% and give yourself room to handle the unexpected or to just enjoy life.
3. Purposely schedule time for yourself to just RELAX. I’ve done this for myself lately. In the afternoons, my two year old takes a nap and my four year old wants to play on the computer. So, I decided I would rest by reading – for a whole hour and a half. I felt kind of guilty the first few days but after a while, I really enjoyed it and found I had the energy to tackle some projects I had been too tired to approach previously. See? Resting can be PRODUCTIVE!
Here are some ways to actually use that relaxing time…
Take a bath. – I recently convinced a friend that a hot bath might help with her headaches. She told me today that she takes one every week now. Aside from being grateful that she’s taking better care of her hygiene (haha!), I’m happy she’s finding a way to just enjoy some time alone. She’s one of the hardest working people I know. Now, if she can only keep her 3 year old from jumping in every time mom’s taking a bath!
Go for a walk/run/hike. Exercise does more than keep our muscles and bones strong. It stimulates blood flow and energy throughout the body and lifts our spirits. Can’t schedule an hour? Try going for ten minutes and take deep breaths as you go. You’ll be surprised at the difference you feel in your spirit and body and I bet you’ll be finding ways to stretch that ten minutes to twenty!
Speaking of deep breaths…Take some. Sit in a chair or lie down and take 5 slow, deep breaths while relaxing your whole body. You might even fall asleep. 
Take a nap. I’ve noticed that when I’m tired, I don’t handle stressful situations very well at all. In fact, I’d go so far as to say I often create them for myself. Do yourself (and everyone around you) a favor and get a good night’s sleep or a nap during the day. 
Pray or meditate. There are all kinds of studies that say prayer has inexplicably positive results in our physical lives. Try it. You might be surprised to get an answer.
Make new friends or visit the old. When we feel isolated, life’s biggest challenges often seem – well, BIGGER. The laughter and balance that a good friend can bring is invaluable to bring perspective to those challenges. Find some people to laugh with and forget your troubles for a while. If you don’t have many friends, take a yoga class, join a meetup group, find a church. There is someone out there who wants to have  a friend just like you. Trust me, I know this – Mr. Rogers told me. Who knows, maybe your friend will have already been where you are. 
Have SEX. Think you’re too stressed to do it? Just make an effort, you might surprise yourself. Think of all the reasons you love your significant other. Or think of all the reasons you’re doing it for you! Not enough? My husband keeps telling me that men who have sex three times a week live 15 years longer than those who don’t. In fact, he informs me, it’s part of elite athletes’ healthcare regimens. Maybe he’s a really good con man but can I afford to risk it?
Eat a piece (or two) of dark chocolate. We have all seen this in magazines right? Dark chocolate has amazing properties like lowering blood pressure and gifting us with antioxidants. But, that’s not why I eat it. Eating chocolate just makes me happy. So there.
Well, that’s all for today folks. What do you do to de-stress?
Feb 04
0

Apple Pie in a Pan

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Some of you saw my post on Facebook about this dish (I almost can’t call it a recipe!). It’s my lazy girl way of making pie because
1. I don’t like to mess with pie crust with children around me in the kitchen. They always distract me either with cuteness or frequent requests and I invariably mess up some part of the recipe.
2. This has less carb/fat in it than pie – but it tastes DELICIOUS.

Even better, the overall cooking time is only a few minutes – maybe 6-10 – depending on how many apples you use. And, some of you may not like this – but it’s not super exacting in measurements because it’s meant to taste as sweet/spiced as YOU like it to taste. Be careful, this dish is addicting!

Finally, I’m posting this tonight as a favor to a friend – so no pics ’cause I’m not actually making it right now. Apparently, I’m feeling too lazy to even make a lazy dessert… haha! I’ll try to add pics later.

Apple Pie in a Pan
Cooking time: As fast as you can cut up your apples + 6-10 minutes more
Apples – 1-1 1/2 per person – Any kind but I like to mix up Granny Smith with the sweeter apples like Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady etc.
Cinnamon or Pumpkin pie spice
Coconut oil or butter
chopped pecans (if you like!)
1 T. (or less) Sweetener of choice – maple syrup (the real kind!), brown sugar or honey (we use honey)
Equipment – Knife, Saute pan or wok
Instructions
1. Core and slice apples as thick or as thin as you like them (I like them 1/2-3/4 inch thick)
2. Heat a saute pan to medium heat and toast the pecans for just around a minute or so. They’ll start to smell good. QUICK! Take them out before they burn.
3. Place the pan back on the heat and put just enough oil or butter in it to make it slippery – probably around 2 teaspoons. Just enough to keep the apples from sticking to the pan, not to fry them. A wok is better because you’ll need less oil/butter.
4. Throw in your apples and saute them till they start to get kinda soft. Then, shake some pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon over them. If you’re just making one or two apples, go light on the spice until you reach the flavor you like. Don’t be afraid to taste an apple just to be sure.
5. When the apples are just shy of the consistency you want, add just a little sweetener and stir gently stir it until it melts into the apples. The idea is to keep the flavor of the apples intact and preserve the healthiness of the dish – not melt sugar all over it!  If you use a sweet apple, you hardly need any!
Regarding cooking shape – I like my apples to be soft enough that when you stick a fork in ’em, it slides out easily but the apples keeps their shape.
6. Remove the apples from heat and top with pecans. 
7. Eat
See? Lazy girl pie.