Here For The Food

Today, of course, is The NFL's Super Bowl 50.  I'm not much of a football fan, but I enjoy watching the commercials. And eating the food that goes along with the special event.

Sunday is Hubby Tony's day to cook dinner, but this weekend (since I knew he'd be putting out a larger than usual spread) I offered my help as a sous chef. He took me up on the offer. His eating-in-front-of-the-TV meal drew heavily from recipes he found on Forks Over Knives, one of my new favorite websites for healthy recipes.  All of the dishes he chose were good, but in my opinion the highlight was the Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf that we had for dessert.  The only fat in the dense cake came from nut butter, and applesauce and pumpkin puree made it moist.  Cocoa powder and chocolate chips (I used bittersweet) gave it a delicious chocolate taste.

CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN LOAF (Isa Chandra Moskowitz)
Makes one 8x4-inch loaf

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin puree (about ½ of a 15-ounce can)
1 cup dry sweetener
3 tablespoons almond butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have ready an 8 x 4-inch nonstick or silicone baking pan. Also, boil some water in a tea kettle (no need to measure yet).

2. Combine the applesauce and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and salt.

3. Measure out ⅓ cup of the boiling water and pour it into the bowl with the chocolate mixture, mixing quickly to make a smooth chocolate sauce. Add the pumpkin, sweetener, almond butter, and vanilla and mix well.

4. Dump about half of the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and gently stir just to incorporate, then measure out 1 tablespoon of the boiling water, add it to the mixture, and stir again. Add the rest of the flour mixture, and another tablespoon of boiling water, and stir just until smooth (do not overmix). Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. It will be good and thick. You can smooth out the top with a spatula.
6. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Stick a steak knife into the center of the loaf to check for doneness. A little bit of wetness is okay, since it could be from a chocolate chip, but the knife should come out mostly dry.

7. Remove the loaf from the oven. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and carefully invert the loaf onto a cooling rack to cool most of the way. It’s yummy a little bit warm or thoroughly cooled. Slice and serve!

Five years ago today: Saints Alive!