My Chaotic Kitchen

This really is one of my all-time favorite recipes!  My mother-in-law passed on this recipe to me.  It was her mother’s recipe and, quite possibly, her mother’s mother’s recipe.  Thank you to my fabulous mom-in-law for sharing this one! 

The original version calls for eggs, milk, and butter.  I’ve made a few adjustments to accommodate our dietary needs.   I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  A word of warning; the recipe yields one large loaf, which disappears quickly into the bellies of hungry kids.  I often double the recipe and keep a loaf in a gallon-sized plastic freezer bag.   Refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to serve. 

-Michelle

Grammie’s Banana Bread  (egg-free, dairy-free version)

1.) Mash bananas with soy milk and baking soda.

2.) Cream butter, sugar and applesauce.  Add to banana mixture.

3.) Add flour and baking powder.

4.) Grease loaf pan (makes1 large loaf OR 2 small loaves) Bake at 350° for about one hour for large loaf, or 35 minutes for small loaves.   Insert a toothpick to see if bread is done.

Wow!  This month has just blown right by.  It is hard to believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve!   I love the holidays, but it feels like I’ve been running around in circles.  

Our PTA  hosted a holiday gathering at the school last week and we all made graham cracker gingerbread houses and got a visit from Santa.   My girls also had a holiday party at preschool last week, so my mom and I went with them and made MORE graham cracker gingerbread houses!  Then, my sister-in-law and I decided it would be great to get all the kids together (she has three boys) to frost and decorate cookies and then go see Christmas lights on Monday night.  SO, they all came over and we frosted so many cookies, I am about to upchuck just thinking about it. 

Aside from the chaos of several sugar-induced tantrums, we’ve had a whole lot of fun this season.  The decorating, the baking, the shopping, the eating.  And I discovered that some of the ready-made sugar cookie dough which you can buy in the grocery store, doesn’t contain dairy!  It does, however, contain eggs.   Since I’m the only one around here allergic to eggs, this works out just fine for me.  Bring on the Bourbon Balls!

Happy Holidays to you and yours.

-Michelle

My grandmother makes these addictive little treats each year, and they are very popular with the over-21 set.  That is, at least, in our family. 

This year, Grandma emailed me the recipe for Bourbon Balls and I was SO excited to make a batch right away.  I mixed all the ingredients and noticed that the batter was quite runny.  There was no way I could roll this stuff into little balls!  I must have added too much bourbon, or not enough dry ingredients.   I checked Grandma’s email again to be sure I’d followed directions.  The emailed recipe read this way; 

1 cup bourbon, I add a little more”

That is exactly what I had put into my batter.  One cup, plus an extra splash of bourbon.  To make a long story short, after some searching the bookshelves, I found a copy of her recipe in a compilation cookbook she was published in years ago.   It was the same recipe, but with one minor difference;

1/4 to 1/3 cup bourbon”

Well, well, well.   It seems Grandma may have enjoyed one too many Bourbon Balls before emailing that recipe.   Either way, these are yummy, easy to make and the more you eat, the more you want!  Thank you, Grandma Ruth!

-Michelle

Note: The original recipe uses vanilla wafer cookies, which often contain eggs or dairy.  I replaced with dairy-free graham crackers.   Works out great either way!

Ruth’s Bourbon Balls

Mix crumbs, sugar, cocoa and nuts.  Add remaining ingredients.  Shape into balls the size of walnuts and roll in powdered sugar.  Store in tightly covered container for up to two weeks.  You may also store in freezer for extra freshness.

I absolutely LOVE chocolate.  It has always been a weakness of mine, and milk chocolate has always been my favorite.  When I need a little mood booster, I can grab a chocolate bar at the supermarket checkout, and be on my way.  For my son, milk chocolate is not an option.   So, when it comes to baking, I started replacing milk chocolate morsels with 100% vegan dark chocolate.  The taste is not as sugary-sweet as that of milk chocolate, but I like it, and it is better for you than milk chocolate.  This works wonderfully in recipes for chocolate chip cookies and such.  Look around your grocery store or health-food store for dark chocolate bars, and read the labels carefully.  You’re bound to find a good, vegan dark chocolate.  

Another possible alternative is carob chips; usually found in your health food stores.  However, many brands contain a dried milk powder, so be very careful. 

All of the evil that people have thrust upon chocolate, is really more deserved by milk chocolate, which is essentially contaminated.  The closer you get to pure chocolate liquor (the chocolate essence ground from roasted cacao beans) the purer it is, the more satisfying it is, the safer it is, and the healthier it is.”   -Arnold Ismach, “The Darker Side of Chocolate”

If you are looking for an extra special treat, there is a company located here in the Phoenix area that specializes in the most delicious varieties of dark chocolate.   Their products are organic, vegan and use Fair Trade cocoa.  Check out their website: http://weiofchocolate.com/    My favorite flavor is their own ‘Inner Peace Dark Chocolate’, blended with lavender, lemongrass and coriander.  It really is more than just a piece of chocolate, it is a chocolate experience! 

-Michelle