things i've learned from new recipes

1. I can make restaurant-style chinese food just as yummy as at the restaurant and at a fraction of the cost!



2. Figs are really yummy.



3. I should think about nutrition before picking out new recipes to try.







Lately, I've been trying out all sorts of new recipes. Today was the Fragrant and Healthy Carrot Cake from Maka at allrecipes.com. Check out these nutrition values!



Potassium 470mg 13 %
Dietary Fiber 5.7g 23 %
Protein 5.6g 11 %
Vitamin A 170 %
Vitamin C 23 %
Calcium 17 %
Iron 30 %
Thiamin 27 %
Niacin 25 %
Vitamin B6 13 %
Magnesium 20 %
Folate 23 %





This is an edited list, of course. Each piece contains 315 calories and 11g of fat. Both could be lowered if the oil was substituted with apple sauce. But I wanted some omega-3 fatty acids (so good for the brain) and was all out of apple sauce.





So here is the recipe:



3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon carob powder (optional)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 orange, juiced and zested
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup raisins
5 dried figs, chopped
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 cups grated carrots





DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch Bundt pan.



In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, cake flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, carob, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the molasses, oil, eggs and orange juice. Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened, then stir in the orange zest, lemon zest, raisins, figs, poppy seeds, carrots and pecans until evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.



Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan.








I made a couple changes: I wasn't going to buy cake flour for a recipe I might use once, so regular old white flour works perfectly fine as a substitute. And there was supposed to be a 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, but I just don't like them. And does anyone know what carob is? 10 extra credit points for anyone who does!




The cake was fabulous, and would even tasted yummy if I hadn't added my reduced calorie frosting to the top. (although that was pretty good and just had 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, 8 oz neufchatl cheese, 1 1/2 T butter).

Didn't it look pretty? (see top of post)


Now I've got to share about the amazing Chinese food recipe! Who doesn't love the fried, breaded chicken that is used in such delightful favorits as sweet and sour chicken, almond chicken, and, of course, orange chicken? I do!

Here's how you do it:

2 1/4 cups flour (self-rising suggested I added a little baking powder or soda? One of the two)
2 T oil
2 T corn starch
Salt and pepper
1 egg
1 1/2 Cups water

mix corn starch and water in a separate cup. Add to flour with the rest of ingredients. Makes a pancake-like batter. Throw in your chicken (however you want it cut. 1/4 cubed mine) mix it around, until the chicken is well coated. There should be enough for atleast 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts. Then throw into very very hot oil and deep fry until golden and crispy.

So yummy. You just can't think about the whole deep frying process and focus on how yummy it is. You don't even need to add any sauces. But that's good, too.

Happy eating!