Banana Muffins

 This recipe is an adaptation of my great-grandmother's banana bread recipe, because sometimes you just want a muffin you can pick up and walk away with, and you don't want to have to cut a piece of the whole loaf. It has the same moist texture and great taste, but more sharable and portable. 

Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Crumb topping:

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, mash up the three soft bananas. Add the sugar, egg, vanilla and butter, mix well. Add the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix until just combined. You may add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or nuts here if you like.

2. Divide the batter into a greased, 12-cup muffin tin. 

3. Make the crumb topping by mixing all three ingredients together. Sprinkle evenly over all 12 muffins. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired. 

4. Bake the muffins for 30 minutes. Cool completely in the pan then enjoy.

Pickled Onions

 I have come to LOVE pickled vegetables. When we go out to eat, if anything comes with pickled vegetables, that's my choice. I realized pretty quickly though that I could pickle my own veggies at home! Onions, are especially easy. Our family loves to use onions on sandwiches, in salads, burgers and grilled cheese creations. The process is easy: cut the onions, put them in the jar, make the brine and put the jar in the refrigerator. 

Pickled Onions

Ingredients:

Quart sized jar & lid

3-4 onions, peeled and sliced very thin (I had a mix of purple and white, so that's what I used)

Brine:

1 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Optional: 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp ground sumac

Directions:

1. Slice up your onions and pack them tightly in the jar. Tuck the two bay leaves, if you are using them, around the onions at the top of the jar.

2. Make your brine. Add the vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a saucepan and heat on medium heat. Stir the brine until the sugar and salt are disolved. Stir in the pepper flakes, black pepper and sumac if using.

3. Pour the hot brine over the onions in the jar. Let the jar sit for a minute, then give it a slight shake to release andy hidden bubbles, then top off the brine to cover the onions completely. 

4. Let the jar cool completely on the counter, then store it in the refrigerator. Let the onions sit for at least 24 hours. They can sit in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies

 These whole-food cookies are a new favorite. They are simple to prepare, super tasty and meet that sweet tooth craving without killing my macros for the day. 

Ingredients:

1 cup whole, pitted dates (soaked & drained *see note)

1 cup Pistachios

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cardamom

pinch of salt

Cookie filling: I used pistachio cream, you can also use jam, nutella, lemon curd or peanut butter

Melted dark chocolate for drizzle

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine drained dates, pistachios, oats, vanilla, cardamom and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is a fine crumb and comes together in a ball when you press it with your fingers.

3. Divide dough into 12 balls. Press your thumb into each ball to create the thumbprint well.

4. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are just starting to brown. Cool cookies on the tray. 

5. When the cookies are cool, fill with your chosen filling and drizzle with chocolate. 

*Dates need to be softened by soaking in hot water for 30 minutes. I also like to use espresso, it adds great flavor to the bake, and you can drink it when you drain the dates to use them in the recipe.

Nutrition information: Serving: 1ball | Calories: 193.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.5g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10.5g  | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 13.5g 

Spicy Carrot Snacks

 I am always on the hunt for a good snack that does work for me. This simple crispy snack is made of whole foods has protein, fiber and is booth spicy an salty. 

Carrots all spread out and ready to bake

Spicy Carrot Snacks

Ingredients:

3 grated carrots

1/4 cup tahini

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp Salt

Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine all ingredients.

3. Spread your carrot mix thinly on a parchment lined baking sheet.

4.Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges of your carrot clusters are browning. Then Enjoy!

Chickpea Blondies

 Chickpea Blondies

Ingredients:

1 14oz can of chickpeas

1/3 cup peanut butter

12 dates, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/3 cup almond flour

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish with parchment.

2. In a food processor, combine chickpeas, peanut butter, drained dates, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Process until it is a smooth paste. Add almond flour to the processor and tap to pulse until just combined, then fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Transfer the dough into the pan and spread evenly. 

4. Bake 25 - 30 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. Cut and serve when cooled. Store in and airtight container in the refrigerator.

Espresso Walnut Cake

 Espresso Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped dates

3/4 cup hot espresso 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup gluten free flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup coconut sugar (or 1/3 cup date puree)

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup chopped walnuts 

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Walnut halves for the top decoration

Directions:

1. Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan by rubbing with coconut oil and lining the bottom with a round of parchment. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup chopped dates with hot espresso and baking soda. Set aside and let soak for at least 10 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, sugar (or date puree), coconut oil and vanilla. Mix on medium high until frothy. Add in the date & espresso mixture. Gradually add on your dry ingredients, then fold in the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.

5. Pour cake batter into your prepared pan and arrange walnut halves. Bake 30-35 minutes.

6. Cool completely in the pan. Turn out the cake and serve.

Sweet Date and Pistachio Focaccia

 

This recipe is Joseph's focaccia recipe that I made my own by turning it sweet and putting tasty sweet things in it. He uses it as a canvass for all sorts of savory things. My favorite is the roasted squash, gorgonzola and walnut with herbs. 😚

My baker and his taste tester 

But this recipe was born out of an impending snow storm. My mother-in-law always makes cinnamon rolls during a snowstorm. I have tried cinnamon rolls a bunch of times. I actually have a cinnamon roll recipe here on the blog. But I have always been unhappy with the dough of my cinnamon rolls. I knew that my boys would be out shoveling lots of snow during this storm, and I wanted to make cinnamon rolls to help sustain them...but I wanted the dough to be soft and pillowy and dslicious. I realized I really wanted to make a sweet fococcia. I also wanted there to be some substance, not just sugar and bread. I went with what I had which was dates and pistachios, but I look forward to trying this with some other options sometime soon. 

Joseph did make a gulten free focaccia for me over Christmas, and it was incredible. This version was for the boys, and I did not feel the need to make it gluten free, so I will create a separate post for that recipe. 

Sweet Date & Pistachio Focaccia

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

1 tsp salt (5g)

3 1/2 - 4 cups water (110 degrees F)

2 packages of yeast (5 teaspoons)

1/2 tsp sugar

Toppings:

10 whole dates, pits removed

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup coconut oil

Cinnamon & Cardamom to taste

A satisfied customer 

Directions:

1. Sift flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Add your warm water and mix the dough until combined. The dough should be wet and sticky.

2. Rub the top of the dough with olive oil then tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place to ferment for at least 6 hours. You can ferment overnight and up to 24 hours, depending on how sharp you want your dough to be. 

3. Fold the dough every quarter of your ferment time. To fold the dough, grab one side of the dough in the bowl, pull gently and lay it on top. Go around the bowl and continue to grab and lay on top until you have gone all the way around. 4-5 folds.

4. When the dough is done fermenting, line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and  generously rub with coconut oil. (if you are making a savory fococcia, you can use oilve oil here) Place your dough in the pan and gently stretch it, pushing to to the edges of the pan. Cover the dough again with plastic wrap and leave it to prove for an hour.

5. While the dough rests, preheat your oven to 450 degrees and prepare your toppings. For this sweet recipe, pulse dates and pistachios until they are a fine crumb. Add the sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon and cardamom to the food processor and pulse to combine. I used about 2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp cardamom. 

6. Remove the plastic from the dough. Sprinkle the date and pistachio topping over the dough, then push the topping into the dough, forming a dimple effect. You can actually pinch the dough to get the topping down inside more too if you like that. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

7. Bake at 425 for 50 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and springs back when poked. Remove from the overn and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container...that is if you have any leftovers!