AltSweet THEME: Tricks and Tips for Cooking With Agave Syrup

Agave is my go-to for sugary-sweet flavoring in baking. BUT, I need to remember several things: first, bake at lower temperature, for a little less time--otherwise, whatever you are baking, tends to dry out, burn and taste over-done. Equivalency is also important: about 3/4 of sugar, but you can find translation measurements all over the web (see below). An earlier attempt at Chocolate Walnut Pie went great--then, I got careless, and the next attempt was dry.

Some rights reserved by wallygrom       

There are lots of tips about using agave on the web:

--Chowhound has a nice discussion thread on the subject.
--VegFamily offers tips AND some recipes.
--Eating Well has some good advice, too.
--French for Foodies blogger highlighted her agave cookery attempts.
--Foodista has an assortment of agave-centric recipes.

AltSweet THEME: Evaporated Cane Juice Not So Juicy

Some rights reserved by fsgm

So, lots of companies have switched from high fructose corn syrup or white sugar to something called 'evaporated cane juice' (EVJ). It sounds nutritive, but...it ain't. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers the word 'juice' to be mis-used in this way, but has never--to my knowledge--issued a directive forbidding companies from using the word.

Meanwhile, EVJ is really no better than white sugar, according to many sources. And, it's pretty high on the glycemic index, meaning it has a dramatic effect on blood sugar, which makes controlling appetite, food intake and weight, difficult. Look for 'unsweetened' products, wherever you can find them. Almond milk and soy milk usually come in 'unsweetened' varieties, although the big sellers have evaporated cane juice--check the labels. Because it is less processed than bleached, white, crystalline, sugar, some insist it's a healthy alternative; it's really not, once you dig deeper.

Unprocessed sweeteners, like agave and honey, remain better glycemic choices. Those choices are expertly discussed, along with helpful info about refined and unrefined carbs at The Franklin Institute. These natural sweeteners will always be more expensive, at least in the U.S., where corn and sugar cane growers are subsidized in a number of ways through the tax code, legislation and federal agriculture policy. There's always fresh fruit in season, for a dose of complex carbs...

Original RECIPE: Sugarless, Flourless Chocolate Walnut Pie

My sugarless, flourless version of Chocolate Walnut pie won the dessert category at the multi-event local potluck. Here's the recipe:

Filling:
1 1/2 cups agave syrup

Not much left! Picture by DNS

3 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
3 tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups walnut pieces
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder

Crust: 
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup oat bran
4 tbs melted butter
2 tbs canola oil
1 egg

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan and let cool for a few minutes. Mix all other filling ingredients in a big mixing bowl, then add the chocolate mixture and stir in vigorously. Mix all the crust ingredients together, then press the crust mixture into a crust shape around the inside of a pie tin until the whole inside is covered. Add the filling mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes, with a convection setting. Without convection, bake at a slightly higher temperature for a little longer--test it to see if done. Let cool, once baked.

Recipes REDUX: Pumpkin & Chickpea Fritters from Healthy Happy...

Now these look scrumptious, and I still have a can of pumpkin puree left over from Thanksgiving--this will happen. These fritters, from Healthy, Happy Life and the LunchBox Bunch,  look incredibly easy to make; ignore the suggestion to use panko as a binder...you can use an egg instead, or if vegan, some olive oil and almond meal. No flour, no sugar.

TIPS Tuesdays: Creating a Sweeter Future Without Sugar

How do you cut back on sugar? This is the ginormous question.

One partial solution is to find sweeteners other than crystalline white sugar. Agave, honey, real maple syrup, evaporated cane juice, date sugar, brown rice syrup and stevia (a powdered, natural sweetener now available mixed in with both sugar, and with other artificial sweeteners, depending) all offer possible solutions. Brown sugar...not so much. Raw sugar? Ditto. I've been experimenting a lot with honey, agave and maple syrup mixed with agave, as sweeteners. Evaporated cane juice is, while not optimal, better than refined sugar. Organic Authority addresses this in an article.

And here is an interesting little table of comparative information about the panoply of sugar, sugar-like, and sugar-substitutes, but natural and chemical.  Barley Malt Syrup is something I would like to investigate, and experiment with. There are no hyper-links to research, or hard data, connected to this table, so...take it with a grain of salt.

SATIATED Saturdays: Recipe #6 - Fruit Parfait with Yogurt or Soft Tofu

It's simple, yes, and also cheap. It's also really easy to make, and you can make it with dairy, or non-dairy, products. I'm talking about a fruit-parfait.

You will need: a small bowl or large ramekin (there's no rule that says you must put this in a parfait glass, so that you can see the layers--do so if you want, but it's not required); a knife; a spoon, a sharp knife; roasted flaxseeds; chopped nuts or almond slivers; honey or agave; two types of fruits from (roughly) the same family (.e.g. berries or citrus); perhaps one kind of dried fruit, like golden raisins or figs or dates;  plain yogurt or silky (soft) tofu; oats (either steel-cut or raw flakes).


I like to chop up the fruit first (so for instance, strawberries and apples go nicely together (leave the apple skins on), add either plain yogurt or silky tofu -- enough to cover the fruit at the bottom. Then, I add another layer of fruit, a little more yogurt or tofu, top with the nuts, oats, flaxseed and a few teaspoonfuls of either honey or agave (or real natural maple syrup with no added sugar). Mix-up and serve. It's especially good for a hot summer's day, when cooking is out of the question.