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Friday, April 27, 2012

Zucchini and Butternut Squash

How do you make these two vegetables go together? Let me at them Ha.

I was finally making dinner for two of my favorite people that I miss soo much cooking for and being my recipe testers. So I gave myself the challenge of making something new for them. We all love my fajitas and have had that a few times now, but I wanted to see what else I can make. Don't get me wrong I have made many different things for them from Mediterranean night to stir fries oh and tofu. Ha memories <3

My mom put in my head the idea of making zucchini bread. So I really wanted to make that or my version of it at least. But I had a butternut squash to cook, so I was thinking of making it into a quinoa dish. I have been wanting to make a butternut version of my pumpkin and sweet potato falafel. In the end that is exactly what I did. Glad I did.

Butternut Squash Baked Falafel

1 large butternut squash, roasted with salt and pepper and oil
1 to 2 cups garbanzo bean flour
4 cloves garlic, roasted with salt and pepper and oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cup black sesame seeds or regular sesame seeds

I used the food processor, put the roasted squash and garlic in, pulse until just starting to combine.

Add in the spices (not parsley) and pulse.

Add in the flour a little at a time. You may not need the whole two cups or you may need more depending on how moist your "dough" comes out. You want it to be thick, and slightly sticky. Add in the parsley.

Roll into 1 inch round balls. Dip in the sesame seeds. Place on a lined baking sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in a 400 degrees oven, rotating halfway through baking.

The roasted garlic was so good in this recipe. I am going to have to make all my versions of these falafel with roasted garlic, it really made a difference.

So I didn't make true zucchini bread, I had to do it my way. I grated the zucchini in the food processor, used some cinnamon to spice it up, and made biscuits. I'm not going to lie, but the centers were still mushy, but for some reason it made them good. Next time I try them I will bake them at a lower temp for longer to see if that makes a difference but for now I am going to write the recipe as I made it exactly.

Zucchini Biscuits

4 medium zucchini, shredded
1 1/2 cups whole wheat white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (ok it may have been 1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon each chia seeds and flaxseeds
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line two baking pans with parchment paper.

Combine the chia seeds and flaxseeds with the 2 tablespoons of water, let them sit to gel up.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together.

Add in the zucchini, honey, oil, seed egg, and the rest of the water. Mix, you made need to add more water it batter is too dry.

Fold in the walnuts if using.

Place 1/4 cup sized mounds onto the baking pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until starting to brown.

Serve everything with apple butter and enjoy!!

Fun times.

And just so you all know I have been attempting to make some things during my non posting times but kept failing at my attempts. Here is some proof:


Mango Spinach Quinoa
Tomatoes and Jicima added to above quinoa

Banana Blueberry Jam covered Banana pancakes with my owl mug!!


Attempt Number 2 with the Potato Patties this time with curry powder, they were ehh the ketchup was good haha

Fish Tacos with roasted Zucchini and Yellow peppers, Tomatoes and Black Olives. My body did not like me at all after eating cooked fish =/ but hey I tried. They were good while I ate them though.

So that is what I have been really up to. Just nothing post worthy.

=*

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Bananas!!!!

I have been on this strange kick of eating a lot of bananas lately. I'm not sure why but hey I love them so i'm not complaining.

How about I make some muffins. One of my favorite quick breads to make is banana bread. I tend to not add anything extras to it like nuts or chocolate chips, which are perfectly fine to add but I just like it plain old banana. I use to add a pinch of cinnamon to it too but soon got yelled at cause of the change (I had to feed into my cinnamon obsession but some family members do not have the same passion as me). I tend to let my bananas get really really ripe so I don't have to add a lot of sugar to the recipe. But if you like very sweet muffins then add in some more. I tend to add honey or agave nectar as my sweetener of choice. I don't have that much of a sweet tooth any more like I have stated before. and we all know I can't make just one version of a recipe so how about 4! Yay! Jam and walnuts, to be specific black cherry jam and blueberry jam.

Banana-4 Way- Muffins

4 large ripe bananas
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup flaxmeal
2 1/2 cups whole wheat white flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray 2 muffins pans with nonstick spray.

Combine the flaxmeal, flour, baking powder, salt,  and xanthan  gum together.

Mash the bananas, add in the oil, vanilla, and honey. Add that to the flour mixture. Add in the 1/4 cup water.

Fill the muffins pans and bake 35 to 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway while baking.

Variations:
black cherry jam
blueberry jam
walnuts, chopped
In the center of the muffins add in a 1/4 teaspoon of jam. Bake the same.

Fold in walnuts and bake the same.

Muffins!!

My favorite were the black cherry jam muffins. But then again I have always like my surprise muffins I use to make. I had originally called them banana strawprise muffins because I would use strawberry jam in the center and then top with more batter to cover the jam. I miss those, I need to make them. Stocking up on some ripe bananas at the moment. I use to have a lot but now I keep eating them before they become ripe =]  time to stock up!!

Oh and just to share my dinner tonight:
Black bean hummus, yellow peppers, tomatoes, mexican 4 cheese blend, brown rice tortillas, and guac. Yum.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Baking Time

I'm not sure exactly why I stopped baking for sometime now, but don't worry I feel the urge to get back into it. I am really excited to share some recipes with you. They have been in my head for awhile now, I just haven't had the time to actually make them and see how they work.

I finally used my large donut pans!!! Super excited about this!! (The little things in life make me happy.) I have been craving a kind of weird combination for some time now, well ever since I made my "fruit cake" for Christmas- cinnamon <3 and orange. Is that a strange combo? I'm not sure orange spice, nah there are teas like that. My plan was to make it into a donut! I know sounds great to me too. And they are. My only hold up was the glaze/icing that needs to top a donut. I was planning on making an agave icing I had used on a cupcake a while back but couldn't find soy milk powder. There is this stuff, coconut butter actually, that I have been wanting to try, so why not try it as my icing? I did just that, but more about it after I share the donut recipes. Yes there are two!! I also made a carob donut, which was better than I had imagined it would be. Odd. Donuts!!

Cinnarange Donuts

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanathum gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon flaxmeal

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray.

Combine the oj, zest, and flaxmeal.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together.

Add in the oj.

Place in a zippy bag and cut off one of the corners of the bag so you can pipe the donuts (this is so much easier and cleaner than another other way to fill the pans, trust me).
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cool on cooling rack in pan for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

Carob Donuts

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup carob powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1 tablespoon flaxmeal
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray.

Combine the flaxmeal and 1 tablespoon of water.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Add in the applesauce, flax "egg", and the 1/4 cup of water.

Place batter in a plastic zippy bag. Cut off one of the corners of the bag so you can pipe the batter into the pan.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool on a cooling rack on the pan for a few minutes, than remove and cool completely.

Icing time!

Coconut manna by Nutiva is what I used. You are more than welcome to make your own coconut butter but this being my first time experiencing it I decided to stick to store bought. You just need to follow the directions on the label, which is to place the jar in hot water so you can stir the oil into the coconut meat because the oil separates from it. Coconut butter is just ground up coconut meat. It becomes spreadable so it is like "butter." And all I did was let it sit in the hot water, stir to combine the oil and meat, then drizzled over the donuts. It also hardens somewhat so it is like real icing.

Devour your donuts.

Yay!

That is all.