Lani and Janet's Chocolate Yogurt Cake

No butter or eggs are needed for this recipe.

3 cartons yogurt (2 1/2 c. total)

1/2 c. oil

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 t. salt

3 t. soda

2 1/2 c. flour

Mix oil, yogurt and sugar. Sift cocoa, salt, soda and flour. Mix. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Amie's Lentils with Rice

(a middle eastern side dish---we love eating it with fish):

Onions

lentils

Rice (white/ basmati or brown)

cumin

salt

oil

water

Sautee and brown onions. Add lentils and sautee a bit. Add rice (if using brown rice, cook rice 1st as this takes more time to cook). Cover with water (about 2x the depth of the lentils and rice mixture). Add cumin and salt to taste.

Cook on stove top on medium-low heat, try not to mix too often or it will get mushy.

Topping: plain yogurt

Dee's Con Queso Rice

2 c. dry brown rice, cooked

1 c. dry pinto beans, cooked - do not drain – (can use canned)

1 sm. can chopped green chilies

1 lg. chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, pressed

½ lb. Ricotta cheese, thinned slightly with milk or yogurt

¾ lb. grated cheese (Mexican, Jack, Cheddar, your choice)

½ c. grated cheddar cheese

Cook rice. Cook beans. Mix rice, beans, chilies, garlic and onions. Put half of mixture in greased 13x9 pan. Layer with Ricotta cheese; spreading evenly over mixture. Sprinkle ¾ c. cheese on top. Put remaining mixture on top of this. Bake at 350 for 30 min. During last few minutes of baking, sprinkle the ½ c. Cheddar cheese over the top.

Powdered Milk

Uses for powdered milk:

• Mix reconstituted powdered milk 1/2 and 1/2 with fresh milk. Save on your food budget!

• Make yogurt or cream cheese. See recipes on this blog.

• Add extra protein to baked goods by adding 1/2- 1 cup milk powder to cakes, muffins and other bread recipes. You may need to adjust the liquid somewhat in your recipe.

• Try the Whipped Topping recipe on this blog.

• Cooking with powdered milk is simple: just add the powdered milk with dry ingredients, the water with the liquids.

Grandma's Depression Cake

Terry Davis, Waynesboro

eggless, milkless, butterless cake, from Guideposts Magazine

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed.                                        

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg   

1 1/2 cups water                                                                   

  1 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup vegetable oil                                                              

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups dark raisins                                                                

2 teaspoon water

2 teaspoons cinnamon                                                           

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves                                                  

 1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine sugar, water, oil, raisins and spices in a saucepan, and boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Take pan off heat and let cool for 10 minutes.  Dissolve baking soda and salt in 2 teaspoons of water and add to raisin mixture (it will foam).  Blend in the flour and baking powder.  Mix well.  Pour batter into a greased 9-inch-square pan and bake for 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cake cool for about 10 minutes before serving.  Serves 10 to 12.

Variation:  Use Cool Whip, Ice cream, or fruit over the cake.

*Note: The other eggless, butterless, milkless cake recipe below is Crazy Cake, or Poor Man's Cake, and Chocolate Yogurt Cake

Denise's "Georgie Porgie" Cereal

(from the book, Wheat Cookin Made Easy, By Pam Crockett)

1 part wheat or 1 cup wheat

2 parts water or 2 cups water

Put in crock pot on low all day or overnight.

Add any of the following: grated apples, bananas, raisins, cinnamon, honey,

brown sugar, etc. Sandy's favorite: 1/2 cup berries with a cup of yogurt.

Add fresh, thawed frozen, or canned fruit.

Yogurt

Ingredients to make yogurt:

• 3 1/2 c. milk: Use any of the following in any combination: fresh whole milk, fresh skimmed, raw milk, powdered milk, canned milk, soy, rice, or goat milk. 

• Optional: 1/2-1 c. additional powdered milk. This makes a thicker yogurt.

• 2 T. culture: Use plain yogurt from the grocery store, or buy a powdered or fresh culture.

• Heat source: You need to be able to maintain a steady temperature of 110-120 degrees. Options: place quart jar or crockery in the oven with the oven light burning; place crockery or quart jar in insulated container; cover saucepan with towels or blanket after heating the milk; use food dehydrator; use yogurt maker.

Directions for making yogurt:

Bring milk to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool to 115-118 degrees. Stir in yogurt culture, shake well in a quart jar. 

Place yogurt in container near heat source and leave undisturbed for 6-8 hours.

Uses of yogurt:

• Sweeten:  To sweeten: add cut up fruit, a spoonful of your favorite jam, canned fruit, a drizzle of honey. A generous sprinkling of cinnamon also adds sweetness

• Use as a sour cream substitute on baked potato, baked apple, in salads. Stir it into casseroles that call for sour cream, at a low temperature at the last minute.

• See salad recipes that use yogurt as a salad dressing in this blog. Delicious in fruit salads.

• Make cream cheese substitute, by draining yogurt in a cloth-covered sieve for 30 minutes.

• Use in baked goods to substitute for eggs. See the Chocolate Yogurt Cake in this blog.

• Fruit smoothies. To a blender bowl add 1/2 c. yogurt, 1/2- 1 c. berries or fruits of your choice. Blend for 30 seconds. Stir. Blend until you get the desired consistency. Add a drizzle of honey, syrup or sugar to taste.

Janet's Tzatziki sauce

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 c. plain yogurt

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, mashed

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor. Add salt to taste.

Janet's Tahini Sauce

1 c. tahini paste (sesame butter or paste)

1/2 c. fresh lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, mashed

1 1/2 t. salt

3/4 c. plain yogurt

Mix all ingredients.

Naha's Mother's Chapatis--pan fried bread

2 c. whole wheat flour

water, yogurt or milk (yogurt and milk make softer chapatis)

1 t. salt

2 T. vegetable oil

In a rectangular baking dish make a hill of flour, and carve a well in the center.

Pour a 1/4 c. of your liquid into the well.

Knead in the liquid. Continue adding liquid and kneading until the dough is smooth and soft.

Add the vegetable oil and knead again.

Cover the dish with a cloth and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into golf ball-size pieces and roll into smooth balls. Children love to help.

On a floured surface, roll a golf ball-size piece flat with a rolling pin until you have about a 6 inch circle, and the dough is 1/16th of an inch.

Heat a pan or griddle on medium heat and when the pan is warm,place in it a circle of dough.

The chapati is ready to flip over when you see bumps raising from the heat.

Use a spatula to flip chapatis.

Flip again to cook each side one more time.

Gently press the chapati with a folded towel to cause it to puff up.

Once the chapati is rounded it is ready to eat.

Serve immediately, or place on a plate and cover with cloth until all the chapatis are baked.

Serve with Lentil Curry

What do I do if I don't have...

• sour cream? Use yogurt in most recipes calling for sour cream. It is easy to make your own.

• butter for my bread? Pour 1/4 c. olive oil in a small dish. Add spices and a few drops of hot sauce to taste. Dip your bread in this mixture at the table.

• powdered sugar? Blend granulated sugar in the blender.
  

• brown sugar? Mix 3 T. molasses with 1 c. granulated sugar.

• cream cheese? Lay a square of cheese cloth, muslin, or other light weight cotton in a sieve, and set the sieve on a bowl. Pour a carton of yogurt in the sieve and allow to drain through the cloth for 20 minutes. Wrap the "cream cheese" in the cloth and gently squeeze out excess liquid. 

• sweetened condensed milk? Mix 1 c. plus 2 T. powdered milk with 1/2 c. warm water. Set in pan of hot water, add 3/4 c. sugar to the milk and stir until dissolved.

• buttermilk? To a cup of milk add 2 T. vinegar, stir.

• an oven to bake bread? Make chapatis, flour tortillas or add dumplings to soup.

• mustard? 1 T. prepared mustard = 1 t. dry mustard

• onions? 1 small fresh onion = 1 T. dried onion