Welcome Home Carrot Cake & Feta Cheese! "Too Good to Believe These are No-Fat No-Sugar Vegan" Carrot Cake Muffins & "You Could Have Fooled Me Feta"

 

Cathy Fisher's "Too Good to Believe These are No-Fat Vegan"  Carrot Cake Muffins

 

"You Could Have Fooled Me" Feta "Cheese" from Catherine Dorrell

 

I had the world's best recipe for Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.   Silly naive me thought it was a healthy dessert.  What can I say?

At least a cup of oil, a cup or two of sugar, a stick of butter, 1 box of confectioner's sugar and 8 ounces of cream cheese.

I made it for every special occasion.  The frosting was at least 1/2 inch thick.  I'd eat it for breakfast.

Not sure where I got the recipe--but I'm guessing it came from my sister--the master baker.

And then there's feta cheese.

I really had no problem giving up cheese, but, feta was different.  It's not very fatty, and its salty piquant flavor added just the right zing of flavor to so many Mediterranean dishes.

Welcome Back Carrot Cake & Feta Cheese!

I hadn't realized how much your were missed.

 

Let's Start with the Carrot Cake Muffins

 

On Monday I discovered Cathy Fisher's Straight Up Food blog & I couldn't wait to try her Carrot Cake Donuts.

On Wednesday my husband decided to give the recipe a try--but make them as muffins.  The Lab Rat LOVES muffins & for some reason, he likes making them.

He planned to try Cathy's "cream cheese" frosting, too, but when he couldn't find any raw cashews at the grocery store he gave up that plan.

Let me tell you--these muffins absolutely DID NOT NEED frosting.

They taste exactly how I remember carrot cake tastes.  Fantastic.  I brought some samples to work yesterday & they were an "out-of-the-ball-park-hit"!   Everyone asked for the recipe.  That's a clue.

Knowing I was going to post Cathy's recipe today I decided to give the frosting a try. I was sure it was going to be amazing.  On the way home from work I picked up the raw cashews I needed for the recipe & went to work making it last night.

The frosting looked great--but, sadly or happily (depending on how you look at it), it did not do a single thing for these muffins.  The Lab Rat downright hated the taste of the frosting.  We think it was the lemon juice that the recipe called for.  I could tinker with it, but why?  Who needs the extra cashews or dates?

 

"Better Skip the Frosting"  Carrot Cake Muffin

 

I recommend you double this recipe which makes only 12 muffins.

Use silicone muffin cups--the muffins will slip right out.  Couldn't be easier.

 

Recipe adapted from Cathy Fisher's Straight Up Food blog

For recipe on one page, click here

 

Ingredients:

5 plump medjool dates, pitted & chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins (yes, golden)

1/2 cup warm water

1 3/4 cup rolled oats (process into flour--it's healthier this way)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 of a ripe banana, diced

1 cup non-dairy milk (soymilk, rice milk, almond milk)

1 1/2 cups of grated carrots  Note: 5/12 I omitted the word "cups"

Fold into the mixed batter:

1/2 cup additional golden raisins

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

 

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees--rack in center position

2.  Combine the dates, 1/4 cup of raisins & 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl to soak for at least 15 minutes, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

3.  Process the rolled oats in a food processor until it resembles flour.  If you don't have a food processor, substitute oat flour, but you might need to use less.  Batter will somewhere between a cake batter & a cookie batter, if that helps.

4.  In a large bowl, mix oat flour with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves.

5.  Transfer soaked dates, raisins & water into a high-speed blender & blend until smooth.  Add the 1/2 banana & non-dairy milk to the blender & blend until it's all smooth.

6.  Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients & gently fold together with a big wooden spoon.  Agan, batter will somewhere between a cake batter & a cookie batter, if that helps.

7.  Fold in the grated carrots, raisins and walnuts.

8.  Divide the batter into 12 muffin cups or tins (use papers if you don't have silicone cups) & bake for about 20 minutes.  You'll know it's done when you can lightly press on a muffin & it bounces back a bit.  They'll continue to set up as they cool.

Hope you make a double-batch!   Next time we'll make enough batter for 24 muffins.  Our dozen were gone in 2 days.

 

 

This Feta Could Have Fooled Me!  Maybe I'm Just Easy to Fool

 

The Lab Rat's First Harvest Just-Picked Baby Bok Choy with Kalamata Olives, Roasted Red Peppers, Herbed "Feta" & a Squeeze of Lemon

 

Hello, Greek salads!  Salad greens, kalamata olives, capers, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta & this creamy Greek salad dressing

Hello, feta sprinkled on top of my favorite Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Hello, my favorite Bulgur, Swiss Chard, Chick Peas & Feta Casserole from Martha Rose Shulman

Hello making new recipes with the flavors of lemon, spinach & feta

Hello spinach feta pizzas

 

This simple recipe comes from the June 2012 issue of VegNews.

Recipe adapted from Catherine Dorell's Herbed Feta.

 

"These salty cubes of mock feta are a great substitute for the traditional cheese found in Mediterranean recipes. The longer they sit in the brine, the tastier they become."   Catherine Dorrell

For recipe on one page click here 

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce package of extra-firm tofu, ct into 1/2-inch cubes.  I used NaSoya's new sprouted extra-firm tofu.

2 cups of water

1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice  (you could add more)

1 tablespoon of salt

2 tablepoons of fresh basil (or 2 tsp. of dried basil)

2 teaspoons of dried oregano

(Options to consider:  a few red pepper flakes, some capers, maybe some dill weed or seeds)

 

Preparation:

In a large saucepan over low heat, combine all ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.  Set aside to cool & then refrigerate overnight.  When ready to use, drain the amount of feta you are going to use.  Leave the remainder in a sealed container with the brine.  Should keep for 3-5 days becaused it's immersed in briny liquid.

 

If you try these recipes, let me know how they work out for you!

Comments

[wendy (healthy girls kitchen)]

Glad you are back to blogging. I've missed you. I'm so making this carrot cake recipe for mother's day, I just can't decide if I want to bake it into a cake and ice it, or make the donuts (I'm totally loving the donut shape these days). But the icing looks to drippy to ice a cake. I might have to dig out an old recipe from a few years ago for a vegan icing and see if it will do.

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Wendy: Find a BETTER FROSTING recipe. We didn't like this--which is why I didn't post it. I think even the Happy Herbivore has one--I know you'll find a good one. Report back! THanks for the warm welcome back!!

[Marilou Garon]

For the muffins, is it one and a half cups of shredded carrots, or one and a half carrot, shredded? Sorry to be so nitpicky but I am planning to make these tonight!Cream cheese frosting is so darn good... can you tell I'm a recent convert? Still struggling to give up desert!

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Marilou: 1 1/2 cups of shredded carrots!

[Penny]

I'm glad that you discovered Straight Up Food. I tried the muffins and didn't find them sweet enough so I added a frosting from Happy Herbivore. BTW check out my comment on your Nov. 6 post "Fri night dinner, a movie.... :>)

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Penny re the sweetness: I think the size & sweetness of dates is so variable, don't you?. It's not always an exact measure like sugar is. Would you recommend the HH cream cheese frosting?? Guessing the answer is yes! Anything else you've made & can recommend from Straight Up Foods. I'd love to know. We definitely share similar tastes. Darn, I totally missed your recommendation for Straight Up Foods back in Nov! Probably b/c there wasn't a link for me check instantly. See, I could have been following Cathy for six months if I'd listened to you. Thanks, Penny!!

[Penny]

You'd never get off of the computer if you followed every suggestion! I like the muffins better after they have rested for a few hours. I did like the Happy Herbivore frosting--tofutti cream cheese and powdered sugar, so not super healthy. I've only tried the blended salad and enchiladas from Straight Up Food. I tell you, there are SO many recipes from blogs and the internet that I have printed and I also keep buying cookbooks. I get them organized and then there's another flurry of paper to deal with in the kitchen. I mostly try recommendations from you and other blogs. I also buy almost everything you suggest (just got a box of Heart Thrive bars) and read the books you mention. I've just started Quiet: The Power of Introverts and am finding it very interesting. Maybe we'll see your picture next year as one of Time magazines most influential people!

I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day. We are going to my daughter's for lunch---90% plant strong--WOO HOO!

[Cathy Fisher]

Thank you for posting my recipe for carrot cake donuts. I got some nice emails from your readers. I'm sorry you did not like the frosting. It's a challenge to recreate a frosting that is primarily cheese and cream without using those items. While you can opt for vegan cream cheese (Tofutti), beware that it is loaded with unhealthy ingredients, including oil and isolated soy proteins: http://www.tofutti.com/btcc.shtml so I could not bring myself to use it. While my frosting is an approximation, I did enjoy it, and liked the lemon, but am always open to suggestions for improving it. You are right though, they are great without frosting too. Thanks again for promoting the blog, Cathy http://www.StraightUpFood.com

[Healthy Librarian]

Hi Cathy: So glad to hear from you. I'm a new fan! Your carrot cake muffins were fabulous & I look forward to making them often. I've gotten lots of thumbs up feedback, too, from everyone who has made them. I'm so happy to have discovered Straight Up Food & look forward to trying many more of your recipes. It's hard to find other bloggers who are creating recipes that are plant-based & no fat. I agree about using Tofutti for the frosting--I wouldn't go there either. I eat this way to avoid fake foods & unhealthy fats--& I certainly don't want to add confectioner's sugar to frosting. I really liked the texture of your frosting--not quite sure what I'd do to change it, but if I come up with anything, I'll let you know. Honestly, I don't think they need any frosting. Just looked at Ann Esselstyn's Pineapple Frosting, that she uses to frost her carrot cake--I just might give it a try. pg. 278 of Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease. It's a blended & cooked frosting that uses light tofu, canned pineapple, maple syrup or agave, arrowroot, vanilla, a little of the drained pineapple juice & an optional 1/3 cup dried pineapple.

[Mark]

Check out the "Tofu Feta Cheese" recipe in the copy of my book "Heart Healthy Pizza" I sent you. The use of Kombu adds a nice flavor to the marinade. I also think the "red wine vinegar" gets closer to a Mediterranean taste than lemon juice.

FYI, Mark

[The Healthy Librarian]

Thanks for the reminder, Mark. I'll definitely check it out! Good suggestion about using red wine vinegar.

[Susan]

Hi - so here is my probably-very-dumb question - have you tried making the feta cheeze without the salt??? I try so hard not to ingest much salt - I know a tablespoon probably isn't that much, but I'm not sure that feta cheeze is where I want to blow it. So I wince as I ask, but how necessary is the salt? Or, maybe a better question is, without the salt is it a tasty product or just dreadful?

Thanks! Susan

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Susan: I haven't tried it without the salt--my guess is that it's the key ingredient--as it is in olives & pickles. So, I agree with you. If you have to avoid salt--this isn't where you want to blow it. THat said, the 1 tablespoon is all that's needed for a whole pound of tofu---so this makes a lot. If you eat just a 1/2 to 1 ounce you are consuming 436 mg of sodium for an ounce or 216 mg of sodium for 1/2 an ounce.

[Amy]

Readers already know the term "food borne illnesses" and how helpful having words to describe something can be to motivate ourselves, clarify the unclear connections between eating and health, and explain to others what our different choices are based on. So how about we add the counterpart, "food borne health". This is what we're about...going towards food borne health and es-chew-ing food borne illnesses.

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Amy: Brilliant! I love concept of "food-borne health", because that's exactly what we're talking about here. Nutrient-dense, with low-caloric density. Thanks, Amy.