New Recipes for Spring

I’ve created and/or adapted some existing recipes lately that are worth sharing with you.

The first is a light and crunchy Asian-inspired salad that would be wonderful with the addition of some grilled chicken, shrimp, or seasoned tofu. The second is a deceptively easy but oh-so decadent dessert.

Napa Cabbage Salad

Sliced very thin Raw Napa Cabbage, 8 cup (one medium head, bottom core removed)
Green Onion – 4 medium sliced very thin (green and white parts)
2 Medium Carrots, shredded
Bell Pepper, Red, Small – sliced thin in strips
Dressing
4 tbsp Canola Oil
2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
3 tbsp Nakano – Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2-1 tsp Simply Asia – Sweet Ginger Garlic Seasoning
Garnish
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted briefly in a nonstick skillet or in the oven

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over salad just before serving. Toss to coat. Sprinkle almonds on top.

Chocolate Pumpkin Crunch Cake

This is a variation of this recipe from Duncan Hines. I use chocolate cake mix and cut down the sugar and butter and like it better. I would like to try it with spice or carrot cake mix, too.

1 (16 oz.) can solid pack pumpkin
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (I used fat-free)
3 large eggs (or 2 XL or Jumbo)
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice OR make your own as follows (2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp each: cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg)
½ tsp. salt
1 package Chocolate Cake Mix (the darker the chocolate, the better)
1 (generous) cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
whipped topping (completely optional – I prefer the dessert as-is)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of 13″x 9″ pan.

Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt in large bowl. Stir until well blended. Pour into pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture. Top with pecans. Drizzle with melted butter.

Bake at 350°F 50 to 55 minutes or until golden. Cool completely. Serve with whipped topping if desired.

Refrigerate leftovers (if you have any!)

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