Munchie Monday: Kathy's Cashew Brownies

Here is a recipe I found by a fluke. I contacted the creator of the recipe for more details.  Here is how I did it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place a large sheet of aluminum foil into an 8 by 8 inch baking pan.  Spray with vegetable spray.

In a medium place 1 cup cashew butter, 2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 Tablespoons maple syrup, and 2 Tablespoons sifted unsweetened cocoa.  Stir until well blended.  Add 1 cup chocolate chips.  I used about 3/4 cup white chocolate chips and 1/4 mini semisweet chocolate chips in an effort to use up everything in our kitchen before we return home in a few months.

Spread the brownie mix evenly in the prepared pan.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool then cut.

This is the "before" picture which was actually taken about five minutes after placing in the hot oven.

After 20 minutes in the oven the brownies looked like this.  The middle seemed a little soft so I cooked them longer.

After 25 minutes they looked pretty much the same so I took them out.  After letting them cool for a couple of hours, I cut a small piece.  The part that had been soft at 20 minutes was still soft.  The edges were pretty much solid.  They tasted okay.  The chocolate chips made them seem like they had way more sugar than the 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup would make you think.  That cup of chocolate chips was almost all sugar so  that should not be a surprise.

Dear One said they were okay.  Now to get the rest of them to our friend for whom I made them before we eat them up...

Munchie Monday: Parkview Dutch Potato Soup

When I was at the Parkview Adventist Medical Center for their Lifestyle Choices program a few years ago we would meet together and make some food item sometimes.  What I liked absolutely the best was called Dutch Potato Soup.

We were having a  full-time Senior Missionary potluck supper at the President's home after General Conference...to get together, to eat together, and to discuss things we learned and were touched by in General Conference.  We do this at every Conference. It is such a lovely evening.  We brought this soup.  Some people enjoyed it, but it pretty lightly salted so I am always tempted to add salt and pepper to my bowl. I didn't actually eat any at the supper because there were so many other delicious foods to try. I was sure there would be some to bring home so I could eat it then.

Dutch Potato Soup  (the way I made it)

1. First thing to do:  put 1 1/2 cups raw cashews in a large measuring cup and fill with water.  Let sit while the next steps take place.

2.
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped sweet onions
4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

Put the above in a large skillet on medium and cook until the onion juice has been extracted and the onions are nicely translucent.  It look my skillet about ten minutes.  I stirred it frequently. When we were at Parkview they emphasized that you MUST put all the salt in with the cooking onions to extract juice and flavor...so I add that message here.

3. While the onions are cooking,  peel and thinly slice russet potatoes and press down in a measure cup to equal 8 cups of potato slices. Add 6 cups water to a large pot and carefully dump in the potatoes.  Bring to a boil then cover and turn down heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are soft.

4.  Add 4 teaspoons of granulated garlic to the cooked onions and stir well.  It might clump up but that will be all right. Stir well.

5. Drain the cashews through a mesh strainer then rinse well.

6.  Put 2 cups water in a high speed blender then add the cashews.  Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until a smooth cashew cream is ready.

7.  Add the cashew cream to the cooked potatoes.  Stir well and cook 1-2 minutes.  Add the onions.  Use a spatula to get  all the onion, garlic, and olive oil out of the frying pan and into the soup.  Stir well.  Serve.  It looks pretty with chopped parsley on top, even dried parsley.  We did not happen to do that at the potluck supper.

This makes enough soup for 10-12 large servings.  Dear One had seconds.

Munchie Monday

For a long time I have searched for a recipe that was vegan, sort of cheese-y, and tastes good.  Finally I have found it.  There  is a website called lifeisnoyoke.com which has a cashew queso recipe on it.  They really suggest that we all try it. I am glad I did!

You need:
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup RAW almonds
1/2 cup RAW cashews
1 large red bell pepper, deveined and de-seeded
1.5 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder—I used dried chopped onions
A pinch of crushed red pepper

Put the wet ingredients into your high speed blender.  Add the rest of the ingredients on top.  Start the blender on low speed then move up to high speed.  Let it blend for 6 minutes.

When you stop blending, the queso is hot and ready to eat.  You can use it as a sauce.  You can use it on macaroni and cheese.  You can use it for a dip.


Things I have done with it:  eaten it out of the blender jar!  Then there was using it for dipping a variety of vegetables and vegetable crackers and tortilla chips.  Most recently I added it to some fairly much dried-out macaroni and cheese.  Dear One served himself a second serving!!  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  Of course, he did not know what he was eating, which was good.  I think.