Decadent Chocolate Cake (with a secret ingredient!)

We love chocolate.  And cake...and when you combine the two: whoa.  But I don't like the thought of feeding the kids things that have no nutritional value.  Their tummies are so small, and they need so many vitamins and minerals to make sure that they develop to the best of their ability.  Giving them empty calorie sweets just isn't a good idea.  So, when I heard that there was on old recipe for "Beet Cake" available from a friend at our veggie co-op a few years ago, I knew I needed to look into it a bit deeper.  Since then, I've tweaked the recipe a bit to contain not only beets but fresh whole grains, coconut oil, and molasses.  It's heavenly, high in fiber and high in iron (but when you eat iron in a food form, you don't have to worry about overdose like with vitamin pills).  I'm sure there are a great many antioxidants in this cake as well, from the dark cocoa, beets, and molasses.  Sadly, I still use a bit of white sugar, but if I don't I can't quite pass it off as tasty.  At least it's less than originally called for.

Chocolate Beet Cake

In a blender puree/mix:
2 Cups peeled, boiled beets. (it's actually easier to boil BEFORE peeling).
3 eggs
1 C coconut oil
1 C sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
2 tbsp vanilla

In a large bowl, whisk together:
1 C cocoa
2 C freshly milled whole wheat flour, or spelt flour
2 tsp. baking soda

Combine the two mixtures and mix well.  Bake in a 9x13 pan (greased) for about 40 minutes, at 375 *F.

Frost how you wish.  Sometimes we just dust with powdered sugar, sometimes we use a creamcheese frosting (shown), other times a chocolate frosting.  It's good all ways.  My family CAN taste the beets, so it might not hide them from someone who outright hates the taste of beets.  I've found, though, that most kids don't hate them because of their flavor, but the thought of eating this dark, scary veggie.  My kids grow them, so it's not too scary to them, and they like them plain.  I suppose if you didn't tell the person that the beets were there, they would only notice it tastes a little different than regular chocolate cake.

Busy garden time!

Grapes to be juiced.

Juicin' juicin'!

Plum sauce, simmering.

Pretty tomatoes.

Onions and garlic, ready for anything.

Plums from the tree, quartered and frozen on a tray.  Later, I'll bag them--ready for tarts...

Tarts like this one.  Mmmmm.

We've been a little busy. I'll post more later. 

Garden Preserves & 100th Post

What better way to celebrate my 100th post on Searching For Simple than with one of Stephen's Grandmother's canning recipes.  It's one of the first ones I tasted, and one that baby Zac was introduced to early in his life (I wish I had photos of his deliciously purple face!).  I put together a step-by-step so that you, too, can enjoy this wonderful dish.

Grandma Tueller's Pickled Beets

24 small beets (or the equivalent)
3 medium onions
2 C white vinegar
1 C water
1.25 C sugar
2 Tbsp salt
6 whole cloves
1 3 inch stick of cinnamon

Cook the beets.  Grandma liked to boil them, I prefer to roast them.  Either way, cook them in their skins.  When done and cool enough to hold, peel the beets with your hands, using a paring knife to cut away difficult spots.  Then slice them.

All roasted & ready to peel.

Peeling.  Yes, my hands are pink now. 

Peeled, ready to slice.

Bring vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spices (placed in a spice bag, you don't want these floating out on their own for this recipe) to a boil.  Stir in sliced onions and beets.  Boil for 5 minutes.

Bottle in clean bottles with hot lids.  Put in boiling water bath (or steam canner--NOT a pressure cooker!) for five minutes.*

Let cool and sit for 24 hours to ensure seal.  Then label and put on shelves for future storage. 
Makes 5 pints.

Ta-da!!

*Current Blue Book of Canning states that it should be processed for 40 minutes.  I think this is a little excessive, as grandma has never poisoned anyone (and we've already cooked the beets twice by now!).  However, to be safe, if you want to go for 15, I don't think it'd hurt anything, and if you really want to go for 40, that's fine.  I don't.

Beet It.

Yesterday found me with a large basket of beets (about a half bushel). My plan is to put together quite a few jars of pickled beets for our cupboards. 

I'm excited to get them, because our beets might not do as well as I hoped.  You see, I have a VERY helpful daughter, who wanted to pick lettuce for our tacos.  I thought I'd been thorough in teaching her which leaves were which, but she arrived to the table with a bowl of beet tops.

Photo from healthytastycheap.

We planted three types of beets in our garden this year: blood red, chioggia and golden.  I love the stripes in the chioggia beets, and overall love the colors of the beets combined.  It's fun to slice them with the children, and have them guess what color the beet will be inside.  They are getting better at noticing that the leaves veins are a give-away.  I'll take more photos of the canning process...and then we get to start waiting for tomatoes!  Unless my beans come in first, then I'll be busy while I wait.