Chickpea Chocolate Cake

It sounds gross, but you can't even tell there's a massive can of chickpeas in here with no flour. Gluten free and dairy free at its easiest.

• 1.5 c semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (19 oz)
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 T confectioners sugar

1. Rinse and drain chickpeas. Optional: remove skins
2. Melt the chocolate chips (microwave 1 minute and then stir every 20 seconds, 50-80% power level).
3. Food process the beans and eggs until smooth. Add sugar and baking powder. Pulse to blend.
4. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth. Scrape the sides to make sure the chocolate is completely mixed.
5. Pour the batter into a greased and cocoa-powdered 9 inch cake pan. 
6. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until done. 
7. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. Invert onto plate. 
8. Dust with confectioners sugar just before serving. 

Dog Treat: PB+Banana Cookies

These were very simple to throw together and the dog loves them. Good to stick one in your pocket before a walk and use for heel training. Or use around the house for "Find It!"

• 1 egg
• 1/3-1/2 c peanut butter
• 1-2 bananas
• 1-1.5 c flour
• 1/2 c quick oats
• optional: 1 egg white

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Lightly grease baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg, peanut butter and banana together.
3. Add flour and oats. Mix until just combined.
4. Drop onto baking container and flatten. [Or roll out and use cookie cutter shapes - this is overkill as dogs don't care about shape. But maybe a good idea if you are making as a gift.]
5. Optional: Brush with beaten egg white.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cool and serve to dog, store in air-tight container, or freeze for later use.

Variations

• Use rice flour or whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.
• Use wheat germ instead of oats.
• Add 1 T honey.
• Use pumpkin instead of banana.

Notes
Use natural peanut butter with no added salt, oils, sugar, etc.

Curried Chicken

Got an Indian Curry packet at the spice shop and tried out some of it tonight.

• 2 chicken breasts, boneless/skinless, cut into 1/2" pieces
• salt + pepper
• 2 T oil
• 2 T curry powder
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• dash of cumin
• 1 can coconut milk
• small basket of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1/4 c tomato sauce
• 2 T sugar (3 was too much)
• 2 small potatoes, diced

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in pan. Add curry powder. Stir over medium heat for 2-5 minutes.
3. Add onions, garlic and cumin and cook slowly for 7 minutes, adding more oil if necessary.
4. Add chicken, and cook until no longer pink. (7-10 min)
5. Add coconut milk, tomatoes, sauce, sugar and potatoes. Simmer 30 minutes or up to 3 hours, until potatoes are cooked through and sauce is desired consistency.
6. Server over rice

Variations

• Add frozen peas.
• Add cashews.
• Use chicken broth.
• Use canned, stewed, diced tomatoes instead of fresh.
• Throw everything in crockpot and cook on LOW for ?? hours.
• Thicken with cornstarch slurry (instead of simmering for hours).
• Add cauliflower.
• Serve with naan to soak up sauce.
• Add zucchini and mushroom.
• Top with fresh cilantro.