Rebecca Davis 12/5/17 Rebecca Davis 12/5/17

Vegan carrot and cranberry gingerbread cakes

This vegan gingerbread cake has carrots, cranberries, spelt and whole wheat flours, and lots of other goodness to add a little goodness to a warmly spiced holiday classic. #meandthemoose #veganrecipes #veganbaking #gingerbread #gingerbreadcake #holidaybaking #healthyholidaybaking

This delicious gingerbread cake just happens to be a little healthier than your average holiday dessert, but no one ever has to know!

Take me to the cake!

While I don’t LOVE the concept of healthifying desserts, I do love a dessert that happens to be a little more nutrient dense while not sacrificing taste. And that’s what we’re focusing on with this cake and with many of our desserts and here’s why:

There are SO MANY BLOGS that have cornered the market on fancy and indulgent holiday treats. And let's face it: Kids who are off schedule and also on a sugar crash are not fun to be around. So, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to focus on adding protein and fiber (in the forms of spelt flour and fresh fruits and veggies).

I love this recipe so much, mostly because I love any form of gingerbread and nothing says "Welcome to the holiday season" as much as this warm, spicy combination of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. We've boosted the nutrition by using a combination of spelt and whole wheat flours. The spelt has more protein and fiber than regular flour, but mimics white flour in flavor and texture. And whole wheat flour is great because, well, whole wheat.

The molasses and spice flavor is also strong, but not overwhelming, so both adults and toddlers can enjoy these bad boys. The maple syrup, carrots, and whole cranberries also add more sweetness and moisture while keeping these vegan. And while the ingredient list isn't exactly short, this recipe is less fussy than some vegan ones because it doesn't require a flax egg or anything exotic. An added bonus to this treat is that it checks a lot of allergy boxes: There are no nuts, dairy, or eggs. And while I haven't tried this with any gluten-free flours, I would assume that any tried-and-true gluten-free mix would work here.

This recipe baked up perfectly in two 5' x 2' cake pans, a large bundt, as well as small bundt pans.

And did I mention that you only need one bowl?

For the topping: I think these are fantastic plain or with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Depending on your needs, I also topped these with a maple cream cheese frosting that was amazing with the cake. I would recommend doing this if you want to bring these to a party and dairy isn't an issue. I haven't personally tried these with the cake, but there are some great coconut whipped toppings on the market and coconut cream whips up into an easy easy dairy-free whipped cream for a vegan option.

Vegan carrot and cranberry gingerbread cakes

Time: 20 minutes prep; baking time varies, see notes in recipe
Yield: 12 mini bundt cakes, 2 5’ x 2’ cakes, or 1 large bundt

½ cup olive oil
½ cup + 2 Tbsp maple syrup
½ cup molasses
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups grated carrots
1 ½ cups whole fresh or frozen cranberries (or 1 cup fresh cranberries and 1/2 cup dried cranberries)
1 cup + ¼ cup spelt flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Add the shredded carrots and cranberries and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Let sit while you grease your baking tins with olive oil.

If using mini bundt pans, fill all the way to the top. These don’t get a huge amount of rise, so the bundts will stay pretty flat. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

If making mini cakes, fill about ¾ of the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.

If using a large bundt pan, fill 3/4 of the way and bake for 45-50 minutes, rotating half way through baking.

Rebecca Davis 11/19/17 Rebecca Davis 11/19/17

Leftover turkey nuggets

Oh, Thanksgiving. Time of gratitude, feasting, and lots of leftover turkey. Much to my food-blogger chagrin, my kid loves a nugget above most other foods.

Also, I always want to do something creative with Thanksgiving leftovers, but often lack the brain power after a huge meal and no sleep.

Have I mentioned that M refuses to sleep in houses other than ours? It happened gradually: At about 18 months he started waking up crazy early (like, 4:30 am, early) when we slept away from home and refused to go back to sleep. Then, he started refusing to sleep at all. The last time we stayed at my parents' house, he fought sleep until 4 am. And when we last slept at my in-laws', he slept from 9:30 pm to 1 am and that. was. it.

Maybe the turkey's tryptophan will knock him out? Fingers crossed.

Anyway, these nuggets solve a lot of our problems: They use up the leftover turkey, don't require a lot of thought, and are something my kid likes anyway.

I used a leftover rotisserie chicken for some of the recipe developing because for us, and I'd imagine for many of you, a leftover chicken is more common than leftover turkey, so this recipe can be used year-round. Also, I prefer to use bread over breadcrumbs in the actual meat mixture (save the panko or breadcrumbs for the nuggets' outside) because I think the slice soaks up the milk more efficiently and acts as a better binder and liquid adder. And while grating the onion might seem like an unnecessary step, I think it helps the nuggets hold together better than minced onions do, but if you want to chop, make sure they're done finely.

Leftover turkey nuggets

10 oz leftover turkey or chicken (combination of light and dark meat)
1 piece of stale(ish) bread
¼ cup whole milk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 small or ½ large onion, grated
½ tsp sage
2 oz cheddar or gruyere, cut into small cubes
1 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup panko or whole wheat bread crumbs
1/3 cup parmesan
½ tsp salt

Soak the bread in milk while prepping the rest of your ingredients.

Combine the soaked bread with the leftover turkey and pulse in a food processor until the mixture is in coarse crumbs.

Turn the mixture out into a large bowl and add the Dijon mustard, grated onion, sage, and cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and mix a few more times.

In two separate bowls, lightly beat the egg with a fork. In the second bowl, combine the panko, parmesan cheese, and salt and mix with your fingers or another fork.

Using a large spoon, scoop about 2 Tbsp of the turkey mixture into your palms and roll them into balls. Flatten them into nuggets and dredge them first in the egg, then in the panko/cheese/salt mixture.

Heat olive oil over a medium-low flame. Cook the nuggets until the bottoms are golden brown and the cheese inside of the nugget begins to ooze. Flip and repeat on the other side.

Yield: About 12-14 large nuggets

Rebecca Davis 11/12/17 Rebecca Davis 11/12/17

Green bean galette

This green bean galette started life as a green bean casserole alternative and quickly earned a spot on my easy-yet-impressive list.

Give me that galette!

We've eaten this galette quite a few times since the calendar flipped to September and I decided it was time to eat "cozy food." It’s so easy and somehow makes everyone in my family happy. Maybe it’s all the cheese and butter?

This recipe is truly one of those crowd pleasers that feels so fancy and yet, couldn’t be simpler. Well, I suppose it could be simpler, but the difficulty-to-impressiveness ratio makes it well worth the effort.

A couple of notes:

I sometimes buy the smaller, skinnier haricot vert over traditional green beans and skip the blanching step.

This galette is also delicious for breakfast with some ham (or leftover turkey) and an egg on top.

Green bean galette

Time: About 55 minutes, half of it active
Yield: about 6-8 portions

1 sheet puff pastry
3 oz gruyere, grated
6-8 oz thin green beans, trimmed
½ large onion or 3-4 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup panko
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry dough into a large rectangle on a piece of parchment and transfer to a sheet pan or baking sheet.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and set aside a large bowl. (Skip this step if using thin green beans.)

Meanwhile, grate gruyere and spread over the puff pastry, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.

Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat and add the onions or shallots, cooking until they begin to soften and brown, about 15 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs and salt and sauté until fragrant and toasted, about 5 minutes.

While cooking the onions or shallots, check your pot of water. When it’s boiling, add the green beans and cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add ice cubes and water to your large bowl. When the beans have boiled for a few minutes, remove them and submerge in the ice water. (Again, skip this step if using thin green beans.)

Pat the green beans dry and place them on top of the puff pastry and cheese, leaving the 1-inch border. Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the green beans.

Fold the pastry border over the edges of the green beans and breadcrumbs.

Bake for 18-23 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.