Skillet Baked Pineapple Upsidedown Cake

This may not look like anything exciting, but when you cut into it and taste the super moist, fresh-cut pineapple on the bottom... You'll realize it's pretty amazing. I got this recipe from Rick Bayless' cookbook Mexican Everyday.
Serves 8
3 oz (6 tbsp) butter, preferably unsalted
1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar
3 cups 1/2 inch-cubed, cleaned pineapple (you'll need about 3 quarters of a medium pineapple)
3/4 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C whole wheat flour (or additional all-purpose flour) (*I used whole wheat flour for the whole recipe and thought it came out great)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg
3/4 C white sugar
3/4 C buttermilk or plain yogurt

Turn on the oven to 375 degrees and position a rack in the middle. Melt the butter in a large 10 inch skillet, with an ovenproof handle, preferably non-stick, over medium heat. Swirl the butter in the skillet until it turns nut-brown, then pour it into a medium bowl. Without wiping the skillet, sprinkle the brown sugar evenly in the bottom. Top with the fruit in an even layer.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, soda and baking powder. Add the sugar to the browned butter and whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the egg, then the buttermilk or yogurt. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ones. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Pour the batter evenly over the fruit in the skillet. Slide the skillet into the oven and bake about 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and springy to the touch at the center. Remove and let cool 10 minutes.
Invert a plate over the skillet, then holding plate and skillet firmly together with towels or pot holders, invert the two in one swift movement. Remove the skillet and the cake is ready to serve, it's best right out of the oven.
This makes a great dessert, hope you enjoy :)

Sweet Potato Gnocchi With Basil Cream Sauce

This recipe came out of a cookbook called 'The Urban Vegan' by Dynise Balcavage. I love gnocchi and what a great idea to switch it up a bit with nutrient packed sweet potatoes. This is a vegan recipe, but don't let that freak you out, if your preference or all you have in your kitchen is cows milk and butter, that's ok too.
Yields 6 servings.
Gnocchi:
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp earth balance butter
1/2 tsp salt
3/4-1 C flour
1. Microwave sweet potatoes until soft, about 6 minutes. Using a potato ricer, squeeze filling from the sweet potatoes into a large bowl. Mash with earth balance and salt, then add about 1/2 C of flour. Work through with your hands, adding additional flour 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky. Add as little flour as possible (this will depend largely on the humidity of your city). Roll a handful of dough at a time into a 1/2 inch wide rope. Using knife, cut rope into 1/4 inch nuggets.
2. Hold a nugget in the palm of your hand, and roll against the tines of a fork to create grooves. These indentations not only beautify the gnocchi, the "hold" the sauce.
3. Store finished gnocchi on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper, refrigerated until ready to cook, or freeze on a cookie sheet and then transfer to an airtight ziplock bag. (Will keep in a freezer about 1 month)
4. To cook the gnocchi, gently toss in a large pot of boiling, well-salted water. When they're done, gnocchi will float to the top. Remove immediately with a strainer. Drain well and toss in sauce.

Basil Cream Sauce
Yields about 1 & 1/4 cups:
1 tbsp earth balance butter
1 tbsp flour
1 C soy milk
1 C nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp miso paste
1/4 C basil leaves, minced
Salt & pepper to taste

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Sprinkle in flour and stir with a wire whisk to make a roux. Slowly pour in soy milk, whisking constantly. Sprinkle in the nutritional yeast flakes and miso, again whisking until smooth. Turn heat down to low.
2. Chiffonade the basil and add to the cream sauce. Mix, then season with salt & pepper.

Jamie's Vanilla Cheesecake With A Rasberry Topping

This cheesecake is super delicious as is, but you could make it patriotic for the 4th and throw some blueberries on top :)

Serves 8
13 tbsp butter, plus an extra knob for greasing tin
1 cup quick cook oatmeal (not instant)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3- 8 oz bars cream cheese
3/4 c superfine sugar
1 lemon
1 orange
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
6
For the rasberry topping:
1/2 c superfine sugar
4 c rasberries

To make your base:
Grease a 9 inch springform cake pan with the knob of butter. Put a saucepan over low heat, add the oatmeal, and toast until it turns darker in color. Cut the butter into cubes and add it to the pan with your graham cracker crumbs. Gently stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture combines. Remove from the heat and spoon the mixture into your cake pan, smoothing it out evenly. Gently push down on the crumb base using the back of a metal spoon or your hands- you want to pack it down flat and even. Put the base in the refrigerator to chill and set for 1 hour.

To make your filling:
If using one, cut your vanilla bean in half lengthways and gently drag the edge of your knife along the insides of the bean to scrape out the seeds. Put all of the cream cheese into a mixing bowl and add the vanilla extract or seeds and the sugar. Grate over the zest of the lemon and the orange and then squeeze in the juice from the lemon. Give it all a good stir until nice and smooth. In another bowl, whisk your cream until it gives you soft peaks. Add half of it to your cream cheese mixture and fold it in. Then fold the remaining cream in gently. Once everything is blended, spoon the mixture over the crumb base and use a spatula to smooth it out. Place your cheesecake in the fridge for at least an hour.

To serve your cheesecake:
Lift the cheesecake out of the cakepan by easing around it with a metal spatula. Place on a serving plate. Mix the sugar and rasberries in a bowl-use your hands to scrunch them together. Pour this mixture over the top of the cheesecake and smooth it out to the edges using the back of a spoon.

Enjoy, and then 'pass it on' :)

Food Revolution 'Evolution Tomato Salad'

Today's 'pass it on' recipe is the evolution salad. This salad is perfect for summer, it's light and full of a variety of flavors- it's awesome.
Serves 4.
1. Get yourself about 1 1/2 lbs of ripe grape or cherry, vine and regular tomatoes. Cut the larger tomatoes into wedges, halve the grape or cherry tomatoes, and leave the smaller ones whole. Put the into a bowl with 6 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar. Toss well and coat all of the tomatoes with the dressing. Pick the leaves off of a few sprigs of fresh basil and scatter them over the salad. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Put a large handful of black olives on a clean surface and press down on them with the palm of your hand to remove the pits. Discard the pit and add the olives to the salad. Mix up well in a bowl before serving on plates.
3. Drain a 15-oz can of cannellini beans into a colander and add to the tomato salad. Mix up well to coat everything with the dressing.
4. Drain a small can or jar of tuna, break the fish into flakes or chunks and scatter over the salad.

So I skipped on the tuna this time, but you could also substitute it with canned chicken, or even diced tofu if you want to keep the extra protein in the salad. Hope you enjoy, and be sure to 'pass it on'. :)
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Food Revolution Lasagne

Although it was a great season of food revolution I was so disapointed it is over and wasn't on tonight. So I decided to get out my Jamie Oliver Food Rev cookbook. In the book he discusses his idea of 'pass it on'. The theory is that if you learn one recipe from each section of the book and then pass it on to 2-4 people and they each pass it on to 2-4 people before you know it there are loads of people who know how to cook good wholesome recipes. So for my first 'pass it on' recipe here is Jamie's Lasange.

Bolognese sauce:
2 slices of smoked bacon (preferably organic)
2 medium onions
2 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
Olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb good quality ground beef, pork/ combination of the two
2- 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Small bunch of fresh basil

Lasagne:
4 oz parmesan cheese
2 1/2 c creme fraiche or 2 1/2 c thick sour cream
1 large ripe tomato

To make the bolognese sauce:
Finely slice the bacon. Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic, carrots and celery-don't worry about technique. Place a large casserole-type pan on medium to high heat. Add 2 lugs of olive oil, sliced bacon & the oregano and cook and stir until bacon is lightly golden. Add the veggies to the pan and stir ever 30 seconds for around 7 minutes or until softened and lightly colored. Stir in the ground meat and canned tomatoes. Fill one of the empty cans with water and add to the pan. Stir in a good pinch of salt & pepper. Pick the basil leaves and place in the fridge for later. Finely chop the basil stalks and stir into the pan. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer with lid askew for 1 hour, stirring every now and again. Take the lid off and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the sauce and if you think its starting to dry out, add a splash of water.

To finish the sauce:
Preheat the oven to 375. Remove the bolognese sauce from the heat. Tear and stir any large basil leaves, keeping the smaller ones aside for later. Have a taste of the sauce, and season with a little more salt & pepper if you think it needs it. Boil some water in a kettle and pour into a large pan, then add your lasagne sheets with a drizzle of oil and blanch (slightly soften) for 3-4 minutes. Drain the sheets in a colander and carefully pat them dry with some paper towels to absorb any excess water. Finely grate the parmesan and stir most of it through the creme fraiche.

To make your lasagne:
Spoon a third of your bolognese sauce into the bottom of an earthenware ovenproof dish (approximately 9x13 inches). Follow with a layer of lasagne sheets and another third of your bolognese sauce then dollop over a third of your creme fraiche. Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt & pepper & top with another layer of lasagne sheets. Spoon over the rest of the bolognese sauce and another third of the creme fraiche. Finish with a layer of lasagne sheets & top with the remaining creme fraiche. Scatter over the remaining parmesan cheese. Top with some slices of tomato, scatter over the small basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes. After that, remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes until the lasagne is fresh and golden. Serve on the table with a fresh green salad and let everyone help themselves.

I thought this dish came out super delicious, I hope you guys enjoy it too, and most importantly, be sure to 'pass it on' :).
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