Vanilla Icing Based on the above information I think I’ll try this… 2 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons cream cheese (made from organic cashews and coconut cream) ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 2 packets sweetener with stevia (equivalent to four tablespoons of granulated sugar) This did not taste good to me, so I added a third packet of sweetener. This made it okay, but it was kind of "dead" to me, and what I could taste was still not to my liking. I therefore added a teaspoon of honey, and perhaps it was my imagination, but I felt like it tasted a little better without having actually been made to taste like honey. Yet, it still seemed to need more, so I added a teaspoon of 100% natural unsweetened cocoa as well. Did it taste delicious? No, but it was passable. (Also, it was not quite as thick as I would have liked...having the consistency of sugary cupcake frosting.) But, in the final analysis, I would have to say I am satisfied with the outcome. Are these cookies with icing going to give me the sense of having had desert after meals so I’m no tempted to go out and buy a 5.29 oz. Choceur Milk Chocolate bar with Almonds? Yes. Did I feel satisfied that I’d had my morning breakfast after sampling two or three of them for this experiment? Yes. Was the icing so delicious (addictive) that I was tempted to eat all of the extra leftover frosting still in the bowl when I was all finished, as I almost certainly would have done had it been "real" icing? No, not at all. (Which reminds me… when I went to the doctor’s office yesterday I was kind of shocked to discover I weighed only 148 pounds. I weighed 165 pounds in high school and weigh a little over 180 pounds when it becomes obvious to me that I need to start doing something about my weight. (If Los Angeles County doesn't reopen the gyms soon I’m going to have to begin purchasing some of my own equipment so I can start putting on some muscle to replace the lost subcutaneous and probably even visceral fat.)
Buttercream Cake Icing Something I found interesting about the frosting from Post #91 was that even though I did not like the taste of Miyoko's Cultured Vegan Cream Cheese crafted from cashews and coconut (as I do when I spread "real" cream cheese on bagels), once it was all doctored up, it really did taste more-or-less like an authentic cream cheese icing fitting to go on a delicious carrot cake.
I apparently need to get more iron in my diet. But since I hate liver and beets, though it is always my first choice to deal with health issues via the foods I consume, I opted to let the doctor prescribe me ferrous sulfate tablets. However, though I have never had a negative reaction to any medication before, such was not the case with these pills. So now that I am 100% in control of everything I eat, I plan to stop with this "artificial" source of iron, and explore ways to trick my tongue into accepting these two, thus far, unacceptable dishes. It's my understanding that soaking liver in lemon juice, wine vinegar or milk for two hours to overnight can help, so I will need to try this. As for beets, I am copying and pasting the following information to refer to over the coming days to months... How to Cook Beets So They're Actually Delicious Many people have strong feelings about beets (usually in the negative), but learning how to cook beets properly can change minds for good. If you don't love beets, using one of these methods to prepare beets for roasting, steaming and boiling might just change your mind. The key to cooking beets and really enjoying them is finding a way to prepare them that makes you appreciate these deliciously complex vegetables. Here, we'll show you how to cook beets and work them into recipes so you'll actually enjoy them. Storage When you bring them home from the store, you need to prepare beets for storage unless you plan to cook with them right away. Properly stored beets will last longer and have better flavor. Cut off beet greens, leaving at least 1 inch of stem attached. Wrap lightly in paper towels, and store in a plastic zip-top bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you're ready to cook beets, remove them from the refrigerator, and gently scrub them with a vegetable brush to remove dirt and debris. After the beet is washed, you will prepare it according to how you plan to cook it. Beets are delicious in just about any manner-boiled, roasted, steamed or grilled. The key is experimenting with the different beet-cooking techniques to find one that you prefer. Keep in mind that both red and yellow beets are sources of natural dyes, and they will stain anything they touch, including your kitchen linens and hands. Handle them appropriately. Paper towels or cloths can help prevent staining. You can also wear latex gloves to protect your skin. Once beets are cooked, your possibilities for using them are vast. You can use cooked beets in salads, to make hummus or to blend into smoothies. They can be diced for slaw, quartered for a grain bowl or mashed to make a dip or spread. Their thick and chewy texture is great in a galette or quesadilla. (If you don't plan to use the cooked beets right away, peel them and store in an airtight glass container for two to three days.) Roasting Roasted beets are intensely sweet, with subtle mineral flavors. Roasting whole large beets takes almost an hour, so this is a great option on a weekend when you can sit around and wait. Pick smaller bulbs if you need roasted beets in less time. Dry cleaned beets with a towel to remove excess moisture. Remove taproot. In a medium bowl, combine 2 to 3 medium beets with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to coat. Wrap all the beets in foil and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast at 400°F until fork-tender–the time should be adjusted depending on the size–30 to 45 minutes for medium beets, or 40 to 60 minutes for larger ones. Remove the beets from the oven and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Trim off stems, and peel off the skin. Cutting beets into quarters or wedges will speed up roasting time but still produce the intensely sweet flavor. Dry cleaned beets with a towel to remove excess moisture. Trim remaining stems and remove taproot. Cut the beets into wedges or quarters. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour the beet wedges onto a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Roast at 400°F until fork-tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the beets from the oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Peel off the skin. How to Microwave Beets Microwaving beets is one of the fastest ways to cook them, and they will retain a lot of earthy beet flavor. Small to medium beets are ideal for this beet-cooking method. Large beets may turn rubbery on the outside before the inside is tender enough to eat. Place cleaned beets in a microwave-safe dish. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the dish. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on High until fork-tender, 12 to 15 minutes, turning once. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove the taproot, trim the stems and remove the skin. How to Steam Beets Steaming beets is a healthful cooking method because the beets retain most of their vitamins and minerals-they're not boiled out in water-and stay incredibly vibrant. Plus, steaming small beets or beet quarters is quick and easy for weeknights. Remove remaining stem and taproot from cleaned beets. Cut each beet into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes or wedges. Bring a small amount of water to a rolling boil in a large stockpot. Place a steamer basket in the pot so its bottom rests above the water level. Put the beet pieces in the basket, cover the pot and steam until fork-tender, 10 to 15 minutes for smaller pieces or 20 to 30 minutes for medium and large ones. Remove the beets from the basket and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the skin. How to Boil Beets Boiling produces tender beets with a less intense flavor. Boiling beets also pulls a great deal of color out of the root vegetables into the hot water. That's OK for flavor, but be mindful that the color of the beet may change a bit in the process. Trim off remaining stem and taproot from cleaned beets. Place the beets in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until fork-tender, 25 to 35 minutes for medium beets or 45 minutes to 1 hour for large beets. Immediately move the cooked beets into ice-cold water, and peel the skins off. How to Make Beet Chips A low-temp bake turns thinly sliced beets into crispy, sweet veggie chips. Trim off remaining stem and taproot from cleaned beets. Use a mandoline or sharp knife to create chip slices that are consistently thin. Toss the beet slices with olive oil and salt. Spread in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 200°F for 3 hours, flipping at the halfway point. Remove the chips from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Can You Eat Raw Beets? Yes, raw beets and beet greens are used in a variety of ways. Raw beet greens can be thinly sliced and used in a salad. Raw beets can be tough, so they need to be sliced or grated ultra-thin in order to be crispy and edible. They're great in slaws, salads and relishes. Raw beets can also be spiralized. A spiralizer twists the beet into long, thin strands, which are chewy and crisp. Beet noodles can be served raw, tossed in a bit of creamy dressing or light vinaigrette. How to Choose Beets at the Store Beets range from radish-size bites to fist-size bulbs. For most preparations, small to medium beets are appropriate. Large beets are good for roasting because they can take the long, slow heat while staying toothsome and tender. Whether they're red beets or golden beets, look for beets that are mostly unblemished, without cuts or dents in the skin. Whole beets should ideally still have the taproot, a long, thin root that hangs from the bottom of the beet. If the beet greens are still attached, look for leaves that are vibrant and fresh, not wilted. Even if you don't plan to cook the beet greens, the leaves will give you an idea of how fresh the beets are.
Here are some suggestions for iron-rich foods and how to make iron better absorbed when eating plants. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/healthy-iron-rich-foods
Since the apple I shredded for adding to a bowl of oatmeal yesterday was kind of big, I had some apple oatmeal leftovers. And given that I don’t have any bananas at the moment (and the whole-wheat pancakes I make definitely taste better with bananas) I planned to add the leftovers to the pancake batter to see what would happen. However, I forgot that I used up my last two dates the other day, so I substituted a packet of zero-calorie sweetener with stevia leaf extract in their place, which was supposedly equal to two teaspoons of sugar. But the pancakes tasted kind of bland, so even though I don’t particularly care for dates, it would seem that they nonetheless add a bit of "character" to the flavor of the pancakes. I even felt the need to top them with a little bit of maple syrup, which sort of defeats the whole point, but at least I didn't "drown" them in the syrup, as I was always inclined to do in the past. One of the things I wondered was whether the pancakes would have a lumpy or chewy texture, which they did not. But I also could not detect any apple flavor at all. In light of this lack of flavor, hopefully the oats and fruit at least provided me with a bit of soluble fiber, polyphenols, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. (Also, the little bit of chopped nuts I still had, which I put in the oatmeal yesterday, turned out to be the one feature about the altered “flapjacks” I would put in the plus column.)
If you're going to eat raw beets and the especially nutritious leaves you better be damn sure they're clean, squeaky clean. To do otherwise will result in explosive diarrhea.
Lazy Acres didn't have any Medjool dates the other day, so I had to buy organic coconut date rolls instead. As it turned out, the flavor (in my opinion) was better, and as luck would have it, the texture was as if the dates had been ground up already, removing their "stringy" quality, making it that much easier to combine them with the cake mixture. (Wait! I just now noticed that these were Deglet Noor dates—not Medjool dates. But I couldn't really tell that they were any less sweet.) I figured that since more had been done to them, I must have had to have paid more. But checking online, I found that 12 ounces of Bard Valley Natural Delights whole fresh Medjool dates cost $6.34, whereas 12 ounces of Bard Valley Natural Delights coconut date rolls cost only $5.99, a little bit less, which surprised me.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting 2 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons cream cheese (made from organic cashews and coconut cream) ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 3 packets sweetener with stevia (equivalent to six teaspoons of granulated sugar) 1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon 100% natural unsweetened cocoa
Have tried some recipes, turned out to be amazing. Looking forward to cooking some more. Keep sharing!!