The Urban Homestead Experiment

The "stud".

       

The wildly popular “egg machines”.

     

Cute baby lambs. A huge hit with the kids!

   

Vegetarian Spring Rolls
I served these with a Peanut Sauce from Elana’s Pantry.  Click here for the yummy recipe!    

18 rice paper wraps
4 – 5 large chard leaves, very lightly steamed and cut into quarters
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
18 whole basil leaves
18 whole mint leaves
2 tablespoons Nama Shoyu (unpasteurized soy sauce)
2 ounces rice noodles
5 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 cup water
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons sea salt    

Pickled Carrots:
In a medium sized bowl, stir together the water, brown rice vinegar, and salt.  Toss in the carrots.  Marinate at least one hour (the longer, the better).    

Meanwhile, cook rice noodles according to package directions.  Drain and cool completely.    

Assembly:
Get organized.  You will need a large bowl with very hot water (as hot as your hands can stand), the chard leaves, pickled carrots, rice noodles, and soy sauce.  I find working on plastic cutting board is easiest.  You just want something that is damp, so the wet rice papers won’t stick.  Now it’s time to roll.  Take one rice paper and submerge into the water for 5 seconds.  Set it on a damp surface.  Lay 1/4 of one chard leaf on the end of the rice paper closest to you.  Add a pinch (maybe 1/4 of a cup – probably a little less, though) of the pickled carrots on top of the chard leaf.  Top with a basil leaf, mint leaf, and a little cilantro.  Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the rice paper over the filling.  Fold each side in over the filling (like a burrito) and continue rolling tightly until you have a roll.  Set the roll on in a dish lined with a wet paper towel until ready to serve.  Repeat with each roll.  Serve with Peanut Sauce.    

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes
These cupcakes are also from Elana’s Pantry.  I really love her recipes.  She is wrapping up a month of grain-free cupcake recipes and this is one she featured a couple of weeks ago.  I modified both the cupcake and frosting recipe a little and I think they’re fabulous!  Be forewarned, though, they are not “outside” food!  Lastly, I have no idea what my obsession with zucchini in chocolate cake is, but I had one in the fridge so I threw it in.  It just makes it incredibly moist.    

1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (at least 65% cocao)
1/2 cup almond flour (or whole almonds)
3 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup raw honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 heaping tablespoon ground esspresso
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 medium zucchini, shredded    

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add the chocolate chips to a food processor and pulse until broken into small pieces (If you are using whole almonds, add those at the same time and process both until fine – not paste).  Add almond flour, eggs, oil, and honey.  Continue to pulse until mixed together.  Now add vanilla, espresso, salt, and zucchini.  Pulse a few more times.  You are not going for a smooth batter here.    

Line 12 muffin tins with baking cups, preferrably unbleached, and brush with oil.  Spoon batter into cups and bake for 12 – 15 minutes.    Cool completely and frost.       

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting  Â
1 cup dark chocolate chips (at least 65% cocao)
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons raw honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup organic, unsalted peanut butter    

Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat just until chocolate is melted.  Remove from heat and stir in honey, vanilla, and salt.  Transfer to medium sized bowl and place in freezer for only 10-15 minutes so it begins to harden.  Remove the bowl from freezer and beat with an electric hand blender to remove any hard chunks.  Add peanut butter and continue to beat until fluffy.  Use immediately.