Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (43 page)

Perri’s Best Bran Muffins

About 20 muffins

As a cook in a whole-foods restaurant in Davis, California, Perri Sloane tested many of the recipes in this book. This is one of her all-time favorites. It dates from when she worked at the Greenery Restaurant in Fullerton, California.

2 cups buttermilk

1 egg

2 tablespoons oil

½ cup honey

2 cups whole wheat flour

1½ cups wheat bran

1 cup chopped nuts

I teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine buttermilk, egg, oil, and honey. Stir together flour, bran, nuts, baking soda, and baking powder and add liquid ingredients. Pour into oiled muffin tins and bake 15 to 17 minutes.

Variation:
Instead of nuts, use 1 cup raisins, 1 mashed banana, ½ cup peanut butter, or ½ cup dates.

Complementary protein: wheat + milk

Orange Bran Muffins

About 15 muffins

This is a favorite of Elsie Nasatir of Santa Barbara, California. She writes: “It has neither salt nor sugar and has been very well accepted by my friends.” You can omit 1 of the egg yolks to reduce cholesterol.

1 small can frozen orange-juice concentrate

1 large banana, thinly sliced

¼ cup oil

2 eggs, separated

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups raw bran

½ cup raisins or sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 375°F. With an electric mixer, mix juice, banana, oil, and egg yolks until smooth. Add flour and baking soda, then bran and raisins. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake about 20 minutes.

   
Variations:
Substitute 1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter for the raisins, or simply add peanut butter to the other ingredients.

Complementary protein: wheat + sunflower seeds

Orange Sesame Muffins

About 12 muffins

This fairly sweet muffin goes well with a light meal. You can omit 1 egg yolk to reduce cholesterol.

1½ cups whole wheat flour

½ cup soy flour

1 teaspoon salt (optional)

¼ cup ground sesame seeds

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup yogurt or buttermilk

¼ cup oil

½ cup honey

1 tablespoon grated orange peel Juice of 2 oranges

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix together the flours, salt, seeds, and baking powder. With an electric mixer, beat together eggs, yogurt, oil, honey, orange peel, and juice and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir just enough to moisten them and fill oiled muffin tins two-thirds full. Bake until muffins are golden, about 20 minutes.

Complementary protein: wheat + soy + sesame seeds

Peanut Butter Corn Sticks

12 sticks

These corn sticks are not too sweet. They accompany vegetable soups or stews very nicely.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt (optional)

½ cup yellow cornmeal

¼ cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons honey

1 egg, beaten

⅔ cup low-fat milk

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cornmeal. In another bowl, blend peanut butter, honey, egg, and milk; stir into dry ingredients. Fill
oiled
corn stick, gem, or shallow muffin pans two-thirds full. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Complementary protein: peanuts + milk + wheat

4.
Protein for Dessert

Cookies

Chock-Full Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies with a Difference

Cakes

   
Chameleon Spice Cake (Apple, Banana, or Carob)

*
The Thinking Person’s Cheesecake

   
Poppy Seed Cake

*
Tofu-Apple-Nut Loaf

   
Sesame Dream Bars

   
Applesauce-Ginger Squares (or Banana Bread)

   
Cypress Point Carrot Cake

*
Betty the Peacenik Gingerbread

Puddings

   
Sweet Rice Delight

   
Tangy Rice-Sesame Pudding

   
Indian Pudding

Pies

   
Easy
“Pat-In”
Dessert Pie Crust

*
Winter Fruit Pie

   
Easy Apple-Cheese Pie

   
Soybean Pie

*
Frozen Peach Treat

* New recipe.

These cookies, cakes, puddings, and pies hopefully will give you some sense of the range of possibilities for making complementary protein desserts. Make up your own with favorite recipes by simply following these rules of thumb.

1. For baking, see “Tips for Baked-In Protein,”
this page
.

2. For dessert fillings, when a recipe calls for sour cream or cream cheese, substitute any combination of cottage cheese, yogurt, ricotta, or buttermilk. (Sometimes it is better to mix ingredients gently with a fork. A blender can make them thinner than you would want for some recipes.)

3. In addition to the recipes that follow, here are common but often neglected desserts that are
not
empty calories:

Egg custard

Bread pudding

Rice pudding

Fruit cup with toasted nuts or seeds

Pumpkin pie

Chock-Full Chocolate Chip Cookies

About 45 cookies

I include this recipe to show that I am definitely not a purist. Actually, this is one of my favorite recipes in the book.

½ cup soft margarine

¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar

2 to 3 egg whites, beaten stiff

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup instant dry milk (¼ cup noninstant)

½ cup water

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

¾ cup chopped peanuts

1 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, cream together margarine and sugar. Add egg whites, vanilla, milk, and water and beat until fluffy. Stir together flour and baking soda and add to wet ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips, peanuts, and seeds. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet and bake until browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remember, you can add complementary protein ingredients to any cake or cookie recipe that calls for nuts. Just add peanuts and sunflower seeds in place of the nuts or seeds called for in the recipe.

Complementary protein: peanuts + sunflower seeds

Peanut Butter Cookies with a Difference

About 30 cookies

You can omit 1 egg yolk to reduce cholesterol—just add 2 tablespoons water to compensate.

½ cup oil

1 cup honey

¾ cup peanut butter

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup instant dry milk (⅓ cup noninstant)

2 tablespoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon mace

¼ teaspoon cloves

½ cup rolled oats or Granola

½ cup raisins

1½ cups whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, beat oil and honey with an electric mixer until creamy and light. Beat in peanut butter, then eggs, milk, baking powder, salt, and spices. By hand stir in oats, raisins, and flour. Mix well and drop by teaspoonfuls on an unoiled baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

Complementary protein: peanuts + milk + wheat

Chameleon Spice Cake (Apple, Banana, or Carob)

12 servings

This is so yummy, your child may not be able to resist sneaking a fingerful of frosting off the cake. You can omit 1 or 2 egg yolks to reduce cholesterol, replacing each with 1 tablespoon milk.

½ cup honey

½ cup oil

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup low-fat milk or buttermilk

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup soy flour

½ cup instant dry milk powder

½ cup wheat germ

2 teaspoons baking powder Spices (for apple or banana cake only):

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon allspice

Flavoring:

apple cake: 2 to 3 cups finely chopped cored but unpeeled apples

banana cake: 1½ cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium)

carob cake: ½ cup carob powder plus 1 teaspoon instant coffee, mixed with 1/3 cup water

2/3 cup ground sunflower seeds or chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl cream together honey and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, and then the vanilla and liquid milk. In another bowl stir together flours, dry milk, wheat germ, baking powder, and, for apple or banana cake, spices. Add to liquid ingredients and beat well. The mixture should be like normal cake batter; if too dry, add some more milk. Stir in flavoring and beat well again. Fold in sunflower seeds and pour into an oiled 9×13-inch pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

   
Variation:
For banana or carob cake, add ½ cup shredded coconut along with flour.

Frosting

2 tablespoons softened margarine

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 to 3 tablespoons low-fat milk or buttermilk

1 cup instant powdered milk (for spice frosting) or 2/3 cup instant powdered milk plus

¼ cup carob powder (for carob frosting)

Dash each cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice (or more to taste)

Cream together margarine, honey, and vanilla. Beat in liquid and dry milk and spices. Beat until smooth, adding more liquid or dry milk for desired consistency.

   
Variation:
For a fruit frosting, substitute fruit juice for milk and grated orange rind for spices.

Complementary protein: wheat + soy + milk + seeds

The Thinking Person’s Cheesecake

8 servings

Why eat a cheesecake full of fat, cholesterol, and sugar when you can make this cake—just as delicious—with little fat or cholesterol?

1 pound cottage cheese or part-skim-milk ricotta

1 cup plain yogurt

3 egg whites

1¼ teaspoons vanilla (or more to taste)

1/3 cup honey

Easy “Pat-In” Dessert Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend cottage cheese, yogurt, egg whites, vanilla, and honey until smooth and pour into crust. Bake until the center is firm, about 35 minutes.

Serve with fresh berries. If you have no berries, combine
¾
cup yogurt with a few tablespoons honey (to taste) and spread over the cake after it has cooled.

Complementary protein: milk product + wheat

Poppy Seed Cake

10 servings

This cake can be whipped together in 10 minutes. It originated with a very close friend, who always delights her guests (especially me) and her children when she makes it.

One 2½-ounce box poppy seeds

1 cup low-fat milk

2 eggs

¾ cup oil

¾ cup honey

½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

2 cups whole wheat flour

¼ cup instant milk powder

Dash cinnamon and/or nutmeg

2½ teaspoons baking powder

Soak poppy seeds in milk for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°F. Add eggs, oil, honey, and vanilla to seeds and beat together. In another bowl mix flour, dry milk, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix. Bake in a greased and floured cake pan for 45 minutes.

This cake is delicious plain but can be made more special by adding a lemon frosting. Use the frosting recipe for Chameleon Spice Cake, omitting the spices, substituting 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice for the milk, and adding the grated peel of 1 lemon. If you frost the cake while it is hot, the frosting will drip down the sides.

Complementary protein: wheat + milk

Tofu-Apple-Nut Loaf

1 loaf or 12 squares

This recipe is a favorite of Bill and Akiko Shurtleff of the Soyfoods Center in Lafayette, California. They write, “This delectable, slightly sweet whole wheat bread … has a light, well-risen texture but requires the use of no eggs, milk, or other dairy products. The secret lies in the use of tofu.”

1 cup tofu

2 cups applesauce (if using unsweetened applesauce, increase honey to ½ cup)

½ cup oil

¼ cup honey

Grated rind of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1½ teaspoons baking soda