Baked Beet Chips

 Hey, long time no blog!  
You know the saying, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’? Well I didn’t realize the amount of free time I had before April came and took it away!  Ever since my last post, life has shifted up a couple gears. A week of studying and paper writing, to a week of cabo(ing), and then back home with a whole new schedule of work and school which unfortunately leaves me with little time for cooking, let alone eating and sleeping. But this busy life is a good one.

Just because I haven’t been cooking much, doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about cooking a lot! Have you ever been reading a book and get to the end of the page and realize you’ve been thinking about something entirely different, yet seem to have ‘read’ the entire page? Ya, try being a foodie deprived from precious time in the kitchen and reading the psychology of learning and behavior. Ive spent the better part of an hour reading page 43. In practically every chapter there is some mention of the Pavlov-Dog experiment, which involves food. Dog food, mind you, but the word food sends my mind off into thoughts of recipe ideas and hunger pains.  Whoever buys the textbooks I have been using will be seriously confused at the annotations I've made… "What the heck do beet chips have to do with psychology??"

Beet chips probably have nothing in common with psychology, but they have a whole lot in common with incredible deliciousness. Ive noticed a couple blogs with recipes for kale chips recently, so my housemates and I tried them out. We are BIG FANS!!! I think even the biggest Lay’s fan would find these kale chips tough competition! After making them continuously for a week, I saw some beets looking a little neglected next to my stash of kale. So I decided to give the beets a shot at being chips. I wasn’t really sure how they would turn out, but it was all needless worrying. 

  
As I sat at my desk, attempting to study my textbook, the smells coming from the kitchen swirled around me. As the beet slices dried up and shrank into crispy perfection, they infused the house with a warm and earthy smell. If only text could infuse its way into my brain the way these beets can. As the smell gets a hold of you, close your eyes and the darkness you see will turn from black to deep beet magenta.

Pavlov’s dog’s would salivate when he rang a bell. This Practicing Foodie drools at the scent of beet chips baking.

Baked Beet Chips

A mandoline is an essential tool for this recipe. It is important for the beet slices to be uniform and very thin, something hard to do even with the best of kitchen knives. Unless you have the precision of a ninja who catches flies with chopsticks, use a mandoline.

• Use as many beets you want, 3 large beets would be enough for 4 people to snack on. 
• Olive oil
• Salt

Wash and peel the beets. Make sure to wear an apron of some sort because beet juice is attracted to things it can stain. Ive noticed it especially loves dry clean only clothes.

Using your mandolin, slice the beets around 1/16th – 1/8th of an inch.

Place all the beet slices in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, just enough to coats all the beets, 2-3 tablespoons. Toss all the beets together with the olive oil using your hands to make sure all the beets are coated and aren't stuck together.

Lay the beet slices flat on ungreased cookie sheets, in a single layer. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt (or ground sea salt is even better).

Bake at 300 degrees for around 30 -40 minutes. They will shrink a lot. To test if they are done, I removed one of the slices after 35 minutes, set it on the counter to cool for a few moments, then tasted it. If it got very crisp and crunchy after cooling, then take them all out of the oven. Keep doing this test until you get a good one.

Store in an air tight container, though mine were gone before they had a chance to get stored.

**click picture to print recipe without the whole post

A World Without Cancer Is A World With More Birthdays-- New Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have two new recipes that I am really excited to share with you. One is for some very special cupcakes and the other is for fresh pasta! I couldn’t decide which to share first. Then I thought… life’s too short… eat dessert first! So the cupcakes won. Next issue was deciding what to title it.

Option A: Vegetarian cupcakes.
     I’m sure THAT one got your attention! But I think somewhere in the world, a baby cries when these words are said together. ‘Vegetarian Cupcakes’ also makes me think hippie sweat is a main ingredient, which is sometimes hard to find. However the main ingredient that isn’t so hard to find IS a vegetable. So basically, while I thought this title would grab your attention, I thought it might also trigger your gag reflex.
 
So I went with Option B: a world without cancer is a world with more birthdays.
     Strikes a different cord than ‘vegetarian cupcakes’ right? These New Red Velvet cupcakes are actually The American Cancer Societies ‘official birthday cake'. The ACS held a contest to find a ‘better for you’ cake to sponsor their movement for more birthdays. This cake isn’t red because of food coloring… its red from beets. Yep... That root vegetable that if you aren’t careful… will make you pee red.
 
The cause this recipe supports is one very close to my heart. In the past four months, I have lost two too many people I love to cancer. Two less birthdays I will be celebrating this year.  And If they were here to see this, I’m sure their reactions would be something like yours… those cupcakes are made with WHAT?? UHH YUCK! The jokes would be endless and I can guarantee there would be lots of laughter and joy going around. I'm hoping they’ve got wifi up where they are so they can see this <3.

I will admit I was a little skeptical about this recipe.  Could cupcakes made with BEETS really compare to the traditional Red velvet? But as they were transforming from batter to cake in the oven, the kitchen smelled of cupcakes, not root vegetables. And when I took them out, they definitely looked like cupcakes and not root vegetables. I proceeded to inject them with a little chocolate ganache (real chocolate… not a vegetable substitute for chocolate), swirled on some cream cheese frosting and took a very hesitant bite. I chewed. I tasted. I thought. And I realized I actually really LIKED it! The chocolate taste is stronger than any beet flavor, and the tang from the cream cheese frosting helps the flavors balance together very nicely.  My housemates and I all agreed… we could definitely go for another! When you take the last bite of a cupcake, and you have to restrain from grabbing another, that’s when you know its goood!! As for the cream cheese frosting, I had to wash the bowl immediately to avoid licking it clean! 

I really wanted to know what these cupcakes tasted like to people who had no idea what they were made with. I had ten very willing volunteers to help taste test. Most of them thought they were just chocolate cupcakes, with a hint of berries. It wasn’t until I gave them a hint that there was a vegetable in there that they arrived at beets (after several other vegetable guesses)! I was surprised and the cupcakes were thoroughly enjoyed!

A world without cancer is a world with a lot more opportunities to eat cake. There are no certainties in life (take my oven for example… this was the first time it has ever baked something to perfection!!) so eat something sweet everyday  and live each day with laughter and joy. I look forward to my next opportunity to make these cupcakes, wishing I had more. 

This recipe was created by Alexandra Mudry for the American Cancer Society. I made a few of my own adaptations, but your can find the original recipe here.The taste of this cupcake is very difficult to describe, but its worth giving it a shot and trying it out yourself! It doesn’t taste like your usual super sweet red vel    vet cupcake from that designer bakery you love. It is, after all, a ‘healthier’ cupcake.

New Red Velvet Cupcakes

makes about 18-24 cupcakes

For the Cake:
3 Large or 5 Small Beets (to make 2 c. puree)*
½ c. Applesauce, Unsweetened/Natural
1 c. Granulated sugar
½ c. Canola oil
2 Lg Eggs
2 Lg Egg Whites
3 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, melted
1 tsp. Instant Espresso Powder or Instant Coffee
½ c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 c. All-purpose Flour
¾ c. Whole Wheat Flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking Soda
½ tsp. Salt

* I roasted my own beets, but you can make it a lot easier by buying canned beets. Just make sure they are not seasoned or pickled. Also add about a Tablespoon or more of water and puree it smooth.

To roast the beets: Preheat oven to 375. Trim ends of beets and place on a foil lined baking pan. Drizzle with 1 tbsp. canola oil. Roast until fork tender (about 2 hours). Once cooled peel then place in  food processor (or blender) with 2 tbsp. water. Puree beets until they reach a very smooth and even consistency. (This is important! You do not want chunks of beet in your cupcakes!!!) Set aside.
(You can make this days ahead and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Preheat oven to 375. Line you cupcake tins with cupcake papers

     Combine oil, eggs, egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed with a paddle attachment for a couple minutes, until smooth and pale yellow.
     Add the tsp. of espresso powder to the melted chocolate and stir until dissolved.
Turn the speed down to low and slowly drizzle the melted chocolate into the mixture. Once the chocolate has been added, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
     In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa powder, applesauce and beet puree. Add this mixture to the egg mixture. Turn the mixer to medium speed to incorporate, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
     Sift the flours, baking soda, and salt together and  gently fold into the wet mixture (do not over mix or the cake will become tough and dense).
     Pour batter into the cupcake pans and bake for 20-25, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
     Cool and remove from pans.

For the Chocolate Raspberry Ganache
2 oz. heavy cream

1.5 oz. Seedless Raspberry jam (or press through a sieve to remove seeds)
4 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, broken into small pieces

Boil cream in a small pot.
    At the same time, warm raspberry jam in the microwave just long enough to make it warm... not hot!
Once cream has boiled, add the warmed raspberry jam and stir to combine.
     Pour it over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is combined.
    Set ganache aside and allow it to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting
24 oz. (3 pkgs) Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, room temperature

1 ¼ c. Confectioners’ Sugar, sifted
 (measure out 1 1/4 c. and THEN sift it)
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Lightly beat cream cheese and vanilla extract until it is smooth, about 2 minutes.
Stop and scrape down the sides of bowl then add confectioners’ sugar. Cream together until smooth.    Do not overmix or the frosting will become too soft and difficult to spread.

To Assemble:
     Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, cut out a small hole in the top of the cupcake, going almost to the bottom. Then fill the hole with the chocolate raspberry ganache. Or you can use your cleannnn pinkie finger to make a hole and do the same. Then take as much or as little frosting as you like,  frost the cupcakes and enjoy!
     I kept mine in the refrigerator in an air tight container. I think they taste even better the next day!