Roasted Beet and Kale Salad...and Late Night Single-Serve Chocolate Cake

We picked the first few beets today, and aside from the usual canned beets and pickled beets that I plan to make, I wanted to try roasting a few of the beets. I've never tried them roasted and had been looking forward to it if we had extra...and we do. :)

Adding to the fun of cooking, this past week we had a wind/electrical storm that took out the electronic motherboard on my kitchen stove.....so as we await the arrival of a replacement board, we are minus a stove. The burners still work (gas stove), but no oven. So...roasting these beets would mean using my microwave.

Four years ago when we remodeled our kitchen, I bought a Sharp Carousel Convention microwave. The intent of this purchase was that I would use the microwave to bake, roast, etc., during the summer so as not to heat up the kitchen when it was so hot. Of course, convention would take hold, and I'd use the oven and heat up the house. But with no oven available, it was time to test out this convection microwave.

I trimmed the beets and scrubbed them as usual. Then I found a glass pie pan and placed the beets in it along with about 2 Tablespoons of water. I microwaved the beets at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes until they tested soft when pierced with a knife. I let them them cool until I was able to peel them and proceeded with the roasted beet and kale salad recipe.

Roasted Beet and Kale Salad

6 medium-sized beets, trimmed and roasted
Approximately 2 cups kale, washed and trimmed
1 Tablespoon honey mustard
2 Tablespoons honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine roasted beets and kale in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine apple cider vinegar, honey mustard, honey, and olive oil in a small bowl. Whisk until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Adjust flavors if needed.

Pour dressing over beets and kale and stir to coat vegetables completely. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let flavors meld together.



After dinner, the boys decided to go fishing, and Kevin and I sat down to watch a movie. As is usually the case, my sweet tooth went into overdrive. I searched through my Pinterest recipes and came across a single-serve microwavable chocolate cake recipe. I've never baked a cake in a microwave before, but as the oven was out of commission, I decided to give it a whirl. Wouldn't you know....as soon as I'd pulled out my cake from the microwave, the boys returned home from fishing! And I had 2 more cakes to make  lol.....but they were definitely worth it. I found the recipe on www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com

One-Minute Chocolate Cake

1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 stevia packet (or 1 Tablespoon more sugar)
2-3 teaspoons coconut oil or vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla

Combine dry ingredients and mix very, very well. Add liquid; stir. Transfer to a little disk, ramekin, or coffee mug. Microwave 35-40 seconds (center will be soft like a lava cake center). If you don't want to eat your cake straight from the cup, be sure to spray your dish first (and then cool before trying to remove it).  Edit:  If you want a more cake-like texture, microwave each cake for 1 minute.