Apple pecan carrot cake

From: Southern Living

2 1/3 cups finely chopped lightly toasted pecans
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
3 large eggs or 3 eggs worth Engry egg replacer or 3 flax seed eggs
15 Majool dates
3/4 cup applesauce (I used 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup olive oil because I ran out of applesauce. I need to try 3/4 applesauce but it should work just fine.)
3/4 cup almond milk with 1 tsp lemon juice - let it sit for a few minutes to simulate buttermilk.
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups peeled and grated Granny Smith apples (about 2 medium/large size apples)

1 1/2 cups grated carrots   

Caramel sauce:
4 majool dates
1/3 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9 inch round pans with cooking spray. Stir together pecans, flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom. In food processor add dates, eggs, applesauce, buttermilk and vanilla. Blend well. You want the dates as smooth as possible. Stir wet ingredients into dry. Stirring until just blended. Fold in apples and carrots. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 30 - 35 min or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for about 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire rack to cool completely. (about 1 hour) Caramel sauce: Process dates, milk, and vanilla until dates are as smooth as possible. Put in microwave safe dish. Cook 1 min. It should be a little bubbly. Sir. Cook 1 min. Stir. It should be thicker at this point - not runny. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread caramel sauce on top. Place second layer on top.

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

From:  Kansas City Star
Makes 1 9" pie

2 (14.5 oz cans) garbanzo or white beans - drained and rinsed
1 cup quick cooking oats.
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
15 medjool dates or 30 little ones
chocolate chips - recipe calls for 1 cup.  I used less than that.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In your food processor, blend dates for about 1 minute then add the applesauce.  Blend again to make the dates very fine pieces.  Add everything except the chocolate chips and blend very well.  Mix in chips and pour into an oiled pan.  Recipe calls for a spring form.  I used a 9" round pan.  Bake for 35-40 min.  Let cool at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

The Best Vegan Cookie Dough Blizzard

From:  http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/06/the-best-vegan-cookie-dough-blizzard-and-cake/
Servers:  4-6

Cookie Dough Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
• 1/2 Cup Natural Cashews
• 6 Pitted Majool Dates
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/3 Cup Chocolate Chips (or Carob Chips)

Ice Cream Ingredients:

• 4 Chopped, Frozen Bananas
• 1 Tsp Natural Vaniilla
• 1 TSp Almond Milk

Directions:

1. Place all cookie dough ingredients (except chocolate chips) into your food processor and blend until cookie dough consistency.
2. Remove from food processor, place in a bowl and fold in chocolate chips.
3. Set aside.
4. In the food processor place ice cream ingredients and blend until smooth.
5. Add cookie dough mixture into the food processor with the ice cream.
6. Pulse a couple times.

‘Eatmore’ Fudge Squares

From: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2013/02/15/healthy-eatmore-fudge-chocolate-bars/
Servers:  6

• 6-8 pitted medjool dates (if you use smaller dates, double it.)
• 1/2 cup almonds, unsalted
• 1/2 cup walnuts, unsalted
• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 -4 large ripe bananas
• 4 tbsp nut butter
• 1/4 cup more unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 pitted medjool dates (if you use smaller dates, double it.) (optional)
• *If you reduce the cocoa powder, you can reduce the number of dates mixed in with the banana.

Break the bananas into 1/2 - 1 inch pieces.  Put in freezer for minimum of 1 hour, but not longer than 2 hours.  You don't need them as hard as a rock, but having them frozen most of the way through will result in creamier ice cream.

Mix together dates, almonds, walnuts, oats, and 1/4 cup cocoa powder in a food processor until well blended. Spread mixture in a 9×5 baking pan (or an 8×8 is okay) until evenly distributed, and press down gently with a spoon. Mix together bananas, nut butter, dates, and other 1/4 cup cocoa powder in the food processor until well blended. Spread mixture over bottom layer until evenly distributed. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. Cut into 6 squares. Re-freeze whatever you don’t eat, and enjoy at another time!

This recipe is very forgiving.  If you have an extra banana, put it in.  I don't usually measure the cocoa.  I just take a soup spoon and use a generous scoop.  I do the same with the nut butter.  The layer of crust will be fairly thin.  You can easily double it for a thicker crust.  Most everything can be adjusted to taste.

Single-Lady Apple Crumble

From:  http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/11/15/single-serving-apple-crumble/

Serves: 6

• 6 medium-sized apple, diced small
• 12 tbsp milk of choice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 8 Majool dates
• optional add-ins: walnuts, raisins, etc.
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 6 tbsp sorghum flour
• 6 tbsp Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an oven-safe dish. (I used a shallow casserole dish)  In a small mixing bowl, combine first five ingredients (and optional add-ins, if desired). Stir well. In a separate mixing bowl, combine remaining three ingredients and stir well. Now mix everything together and pour into the greased dish. (If you like a more-crumbly crumble, increase the amounts of the last three ingredients.) Bake 40 minutes (because I changed baking dishes I am not sure on the time.  40 min is from the original recipe), then turn the oven to high-broil for 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat, but let sit in oven 15 more minutes.

Beets and Caramelized Onions with Feta

From: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beets-and-Caramelized-Onions-with-Feta-108478
Serves: 4

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (preferably whole-grain or coarse-grain)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 (15-oz) cans small whole beets, drained and quartered (or halved if very small) * I boiled 3 beets until they could easily be pierced by a fork.
• 3 oz crumbled feta (1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (1 oz), toasted and coarsely chopped

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, then add 3 tablespoons oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well.  Add beets and cheese to dressing, stirring gently to combine. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts.

kale-beet-greens-with-pecans

From: http://www.thesensitivepantry.com/the-sensitive-pantry/2010/3/13/teresas-kale-beet-greens-with-pecans.html
Servers: 6

1 large bunch kale, ribs removed, chopped
1 bunch beet greens, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ginger
3-4 tablespoons of Pecans (you can toast them for about 3-4 minutes to improve flavor)
Orange zest (optional)
Sea salt to taste

Gently clean the kale and beet greens under cool running water.
Remove the stems from the beet greens and chop them into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.
Remove the ribs from the kale and discard. Chop the kale and beet leaves into 1/2-3/4 inch strips.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add garlic and chopped beet stems. Saute about 5 minutes until garlic and stems are softened.
Add the beet and kale greens and saute adding ginger and salt to taste. (I recommend using freshly grated ginger but powdered ginger will work, as well.) Turn the greens in the pan using a large pair of tongs. The water clinging to the washed greens is typically enough to steam them a bit but, if needed, you can add a few extra tablespoons. Saute until soft—about 5-7 minutes longer.
Serve sprinkled with toasted pecans. A small amount of orange zest, if you have it, provides a colorful garnish for this dish.