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BAKING WITH VEGETABLES American Institute for Cancer Research
Vegetable Desserts ~ Beyond Carrot Cake &
Pumpkin Pie,
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RECIPES
The vegetable dessert recipes included with this article are from a fun feature we published in our Cinnamon Hearts diabetic newsletter in May~June 1998. Although we no longer publish a print newsletter, we still draw upon past issues for some of our best articles and recipes. We've expanded this feature on Baked Vegetables to include some fantastic baked vegetable recipes from a past cookbook review we did on Vegetable Desserts ~ Beyond Carrot Cake & Pumpkin Pie, by Elisabeth Schafer and Jeannette L. Miller, RD. One more thing: We're not out of our minds by including recipes featuring melon as the "vegetable" ingredient! Cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, casaba, and bitter melon are all "fruits" with a secret -- they're really vegetables! Melons are all from the same family as cucumbers and squash, and originated in Africa where they were first grown in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. Watermelons were a life-giving source of water and grateful travelers carried the wonderful vegetable from Africa throughout the Mediterranean region, to India and China. Slaves brought melons with them in their forced exodus from Africa to the New World. Enjoy!!
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Carrot cake,
zucchini bread, onion rolls –– baking with vegetables produces some of our
favorite treats from the oven. With nutrition experts urging us to eat five or more
servings of fruits and vegetables each day, these nutrient-rich baking alternatives become
even more attractive. Using vegetables for baking not only adds vitamins, minerals and fiber to your diet, it can also help you reduce dietary fat. Mashed pumpkin or sweet potatoes, for example, can replace all or part of the fat traditionally used to impart moistness to cakes, quick breads, scones or brownies. You can try this out in sweet potato biscuits flavored with thyme and a little brown sugar. Corn bread uses corn meal. Add to this "grain goodness" by making corn muffins with chopped red bell pepper and jalapeno pepper. The hot jalapeno mellows out in cooking to create a pleasant zing. Or, make cornmeal carrot biscuits with shredded carrots and raisins. Pumpkin pie is a favorite baked vegetable dish, but you can substitute winter squashes, sweet potatoes or carrots. Better yet, do away with the fat-filled crust and convert these fillings into baked custards. With breads, it's easy to include vegetables. Yeast bread recipes from around the world show you how to make ethnic favorites ranging from onion bagels to potato bread to dried tomato focaccia. Quick bread choices include such delights as chocolate spice zucchini bread, pumpkin gingerbread and carrot fruitcake made with dates and dried apricots. AICR
GOLDEN
LEMON CAKE
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cake mix, oil, and eggs at low speed until moistened. Continue beating at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in squash, pineapple, and almonds, thoroughly blending all ingredients. Pour batter into prepared
pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes
out clean. A lowfat cream cheese frosting would be a good accompaniment, if you prefer
frosted cakes. Makes 16 Servings.
3/4 cup all-purpose flour Combine flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon with shortening, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl, combine molasses and baking soda. Stir in the egg, evaporated skim milk, flavoring and pureé. Pour half the liquid mixture into pie shell; add 1/4 of the crumbs and stir. Pour in the remaining liquid mixture and top with remainder of the crumbs. This time, do not stir. Bake 12 minutes until crust
starts to brown. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake for 45 minutes, until pie is
firm. Makes 8 Serving.
SEAFOAM PIE
Stir together eggs, lime
juice, and water, and all to gelatin mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat just until
mixture comes to a boil. Fold gelatin mixture into
whipped topping. Carefully fold in melon cubes. Pile into cooled pastry shell. Chill until
firm. Top with a ring of low-fat whipped topping and garnish with toasted almonds. Makes
8 Servings.
SWEET PEA
BARS 2/3 cup DRY split peas Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar,and eggs; beat well. Sift 2 cups flour with baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. Add sifted ingredients alternately with pea "soup" to egg mixture, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Dredge raisins and nuts in remaining 1/2 cup flour and stir into batter. Spread in a lightly sprayed
9-inch x 13-inch pan; bake for 45 minutes or until evenly browned. Cut into 24 bars (4 x 6
rows). Makes 24 Bars.
Beat together margarine and sugar. Add egg and beat until well blended. Stir in vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into batter; mix thoroughly. Stir in cucumber, carrots,
and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes,
or until delicate golden brown. Makes 34 (2-cookie) Servings.
HABANERO
SURPRISE
2/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes Put tomatoes and habanero pepper in orange juice and allow to sit while mixing other ingredients. Combine cake mix, beans, eggs and almond extract and beat for 2 minutes. Stir in juice/tomato/pepper mixture. Mix thoroughly. Fold in sunflower kernels and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack and frost
with Orange Frosting. Makes 24 Servings.
SWEET
POTATO BUTTERMILK BARS Nonstick vegetable cooking spray Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside. Cream the shortening and sugar. Add egg and beat thoroughly. Add molasses, sweet potato, and orange rind. Sift together the all-purpose flour,
salt, baking soda, baking powder, and ginger. Stir in whole wheat flour. Add dry
ingredients alternately with buttermilk to the sweet potato mixture, starting and ending
with flour mixture. Spread in prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until
toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. While warm, cut into 54 bars (9 by 6 rows). Yield:
54 Bars.
MELON
BERRY GLACE PIE 1/2 cup light cream cheese (tub-style) Beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Spread over bottom of cooled, baked pie shell. Refrigerate. Crush strawberries slightly and combine with water; simmer 4 to 5 minutes, then press through sieve. Discard seeds. Blend sugar, cornstarch, and salt; stir into strawberries in a small saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Continue cooking and stirring over low heat 2 minutes unti mixture is thickened and translucent. Remove from heat and stir in butter flavoring and lemon peel. Add food coloring, if desired. Cool until lukewarm. Place cantaloupe in pie shell on top of cheese. Spoon strawberry mixture over fruit. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Garnish with a dollop of low-fat whipped topping and a fresh strawberry half. Makes 8 Servings. Per Serving: 165 Cal; Total Fat 10 g (Sat Fat 3 g ); 18 g Carbo; 6 mg Cholesterol; 235 mg Sodium; 3 g Protein; 2 g Dietary Fiber. Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1/2 Fruit.
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