Colored Birthday Cake

Oil two 8 x 8 inch cake pans or one larger rectangular pan (I think I used a 9 x 13 pan).

Combine and set aside:
1/4 cup plus 1 and 1/2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
3/4 cup boiling water

Sift together:
3 cups flour (cake flour would be best, but I used King Arthur All-Purpose Unbleached flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, which is made with potato starch)
1 tsp salt (RealSalt)
1 packet Kosher for Passover gelatin dessert mix (such as Ko-Jel or Kedem)--I used raspberry flavor Kedem (Note: gelatin is not an excititoxin-safe ingredient)

Cream together:
3/4 cup soft butter (you could substitute oil--I would probably reduce to 1/2 cup next time if subbing oil)
2 cups sugar (C & H/Domino's is pure cane sugar)

Blend into sugar mixture:
3/4 cup rice milk (Rice Dream Original Unenriched)
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional--I used more like 1 tsp homemade vanilla that was essentially a vanilla bean cut up and simmered in water)
Cooled flaxseed mixture

Stir together wet and dry ingredients and blend well, then pour batter into pan and smooth flat.

Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean (about 50 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan).

Top with berries or whatever you like to put on cake. This time I made a Kosher For Passover vanilla pudding mix with half the amount of rice milk called for, added some K for P marshmallows while stirring over low heat, and then added pureed strawberries. It made a thin mixture that we spooned over each piece of cake and topped with a K for P marshmallow.

Crispy Waffles

These waffles are a variation on a recipe that came with the Disney Princess waffle iron we just bought (yes, it imprints Cinderella's carriage on every waffle, much to the delight of my children). The added starch supposedly makes the waffles more crisp. They are nice and sturdy if you like to put lots of toppings on your waffles.

Mix together and set aside:
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup flaxseed meal

Preheat waffle iron.

Sift together:
1 and 1/3 cup flour (I have tested this recipe with King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour and brown rice flour)
1/3 cup potato starch (I used Manischewitz)
1 Tablespoon teff flour (optional, or you can substitute another type of flour for crunch and flavor--the original recipe called for cornmeal)
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, which is corn-free)
3/4 teaspoon salt

To flax seed mixture, add:
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (optional)
3/4 cup rice milk or other dairy substitute (Rice Dream Original unenriched is corn-free)

Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Lightly grease waffle iron with oil or cooking spray. Eggless waffles tend to stick more easily than those containing eggs, so you may or may not need to grease the griddle before every waffle. You will most likely need to grease for every waffle if you use gluten-free flour.

Spoon in enough batter to cover the pattern on the bottom of the iron, close iron, and bake until the indicator on your iron says it's done. Remove waffle and cool on a rack for greater crispiness.
We eat the whole-wheat version of these waffles plain, with nothing on them. If you wish to put something sugary on top, like syrup, you may want to leave out the honey or decrease to 1 tablespoon. The gluten-free version is less moist and more crispy.

You can turn waffles into a main dish by leaving out the honey and serving a meat sauce (think biscuits and gravy) or stew over them. Or they make a great dessert with fruit on top.

Makes about 3-4 large waffles. Whole-grain flour makes these quite substantial and filling.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This started out as a brownie recipe, but I think it has more of a cake consistency. It's moist and chocolatey--yum! Nuts could be stirred in before baking if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and oil a rectangular pan.

Mix together and set aside:
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
3/4 cup boiling water

Sift together until blended:
2 cups whole grain flour (I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat, but any flour should work. I think even a gluten-free flour should work with this recipe, although it may require longer baking. If you test the recipe that way, please let me know how it turns out.)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)


In blender, combine and blend until smooth:
1/2 cup sourdough starter, applesauce, or yogurt (chocolate, vanilla or plain) [optional--cake will be denser if left out]
1/3 cup oil
1 cup honey
2 medium peeled/sliced zucchini (about 2 cups worth after processing)

To dry ingredients, add zucchini mixture and flaxseed mixture. Stir just until blended and pour into oiled pan.

If desired, sprinkle batter with 3/4 cup chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips and pressed them in to the batter a bit.

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. I used a pan smaller than a traditional cake pan, so ended up baking it for about an hour because it made the batter deeper.

(Note: I recently made this cake and forgot to put in any sourdough starter, fruit or yogurt. It was fine without the acid--a little denser, more brownie-like. I mixed about a cup of Enjoy Life choc. chips before pouring the batter into the pan, and it was good.)

Gingered Chicken Fruit Salad

My mom makes a fabulous chicken fruit salad that I have fond childhood memories of eating. Unfortunately, it contains apples, grapes, mandarin oranges, celery, almond slivers, cool whip and mayonnaise. Most of which, of course, are ingredients we can't have.

So this week I tried to develop my own version. I thought it turned out well, but DH and the kids weren't crazy about it. Since they generally don't like fruit salad anyway, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I enjoyed it.

This recipe would be easy to change for various dietary restrictions. Freely substitute any fruit you can have. To make it gluten-free, use rice or seaweed noodles. To make it vegan, you could use cooked beans or tofu instead of the meat. Use your imagination!

Anyway, here's what I put in:

8 to 12 oz. package of pasta, cooked al dente (slightly firm)--I used kamut spirals
2+ cups each of red and green grapes, halved (for a total of between 4 and 5 cups)
1/2 cup diced celery
1 raw zucchini, peeled and diced
2 firm pears (a tad green is fine)
About 5 cups cooked cubed chicken
Other fruit to your taste--I really would have liked to add mandarin oranges or a couple of sliced tangerines or oranges. Since I didn't have any oranges or pineapple, I added a peach and a kiwi fruit.


For the sauce/glaze, mix together:

3 tablespoons Ginger Spread (Trader Joe's makes one that's just ginger and cane sugar)
4-6 tablespoons lemon juice (equivalent to the juice of 2-3 lemons)
2 tablespoons agave nectar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (you may want to omit or reduce the salt if your chicken was presalted)

Warm the glaze mixture slightly until it stirs together well. Then stir in:

1 can of cranberry sauce (I used whole-berry Kosher for Passover cranberry sauce; Trader Joe's cranberry sauce also seems to be corn-free)

The lemon-ginger mixture would probably make a great glaze all by itself. I got a bit carried away and added cranberry sauce too.

Drizzle the sauce over the salad and stir to coat. Taste and add more salt, lemon juice or sweetener if needed. Chill salad before serving if desired.