Homemade Granola Bars

This is a great recipe if you like snacking on something healthy and a bit different. I adapted this recipe from here: http://minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-granola-bars/. Thanks to my friend Kim who introduced me to it, that recipe is great too. These bars turned out nice and moist, sticky and naturally sweet. Try it!  

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups packed, pitted dates

2 cups rolled oats (or gluten-free oats)

¼ cup + 3 tbsp. organic honey

¼ cup almond butter (or natural peanut butter) 

¼ cup raw slivered, unsalted almonds

¼ cup crumbled pecans

¼ cup unsweetened craisins

¼ cup golden raisins

6 tbsp. raw unsalted pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp. raw, shelled hemp seeds

2 tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

Toast oats and almonds at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until slightly golden. Process dates in a food processor, scrape down the sides a few times until a cohesive ball forms. Warm honey and almond butter in a small pot until smooth and runny and pour over the oat mixture. Combine all ingredients together, mix well, using a spoon to break up the dates. Press evenly into an 8x8 parchment lined baking dish and cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes. If the mixture is too sticky, grease the back of a spatula with some olive oil and press down. After cooling, remove from dish and cut into bars or squares. Store in the fridge. 

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Here's how to make gluten-free banana bread with no refined sugar, oil or butter. This loaf comes out pretty dense but moist and very tasty.

Ingredients:
2 cups sorghum flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla
1/2 cup organic honey
2 organic eggs, beaten
3 mashed bananas

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with a little olive oil. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, mix applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla and honey. Stir in beaten eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir wet mixture into flour mixture, just to moisten and pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for about 55 minutes, until dark brown and a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack.

Pita Chips

When my pita bread went just a little too hard for sandwiches, I decided to make pita chips and man were they ever good. Serve them up with some homemade hummus and you'll be sure to please a crowd.

3 whole wheat pita pockets

2 tbsp. grape seed oil

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. dried basil

freshly ground pepper

salt to taste

Preheat over to 400F. 

1. Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

2. In a small bowl, combine ingredients (except salt) and baste each triangle with the mixture. Just one side is plenty.

3. Sprinkle with salt 

4. Bake for 6-7 minutes until lightly browned and crispy. Watch them carefully as they tend to burn easily.

Butternut Squash Soup

My mom came out west for a visit recently and brought with her this fabulous recipe for butternut squash soup. The secret is using Granny Smith apples, they add a bit of tartness and the pear adds the perfect balance of sweetness.

1½ large butternut squash (about 4 cups) 

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 pear, peeled, cored and diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

3-3½ cups vegetable stock

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. salt

Fresh ground pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill baking dish with 1½ cups of water. Cut the butternut squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Brush with olive oil and place upside down in pan. Bake 1 hour or until tender.

Sauté onion and apple in a large pot with a little olive oil until softened and onion is transparent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add vegetable stock, salt & pepper.

Add the squash, pear and cayenne.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly, puree and enjoy.

Delicious!

DIY Rainbow Crayons

Ever wonder what to do with all those broken crayons? Keep them and make these!

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees and place broken crayons in a muffin tin with foil liners.

Bake for 5-7 minutes and let cool until hardened.

Easy right!?!

Old Fashioned Maple Cream Fudge

It’s been a while since I last blogged! I’ve experimented with many great recipes in the past year but have neglected to post them. Jayden is almost two, we have relocated again and I’m expecting a baby girl in December, so needless to say, it’s been a little hectic around here. I’m attending a baking exchange in November and decided I would experiment with fudge. This recipe turned out so good that I just had to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy it!

Old Fashioned Maple Cream Fudge

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, medium packed

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup salted butter

1/4 cup of 100% pure maple syrup

pinch of salt

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Combine all ingredients together except vanilla in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly while bringing mixture to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, do not stir. You will be tempted to, but do not stir. Just watch that it doesn’t boil over, adjust heat accordingly. After the mixture has boiled (constant bubbling) for 10 minutes on medium heat, test by pouring a small amount into a glass of cold water. If you can reach into the water and form a soft ball of fudge with your fingers, the mixture is ready to be removed from the heat. If not, boil for a few more minutes and test again. It is crucial that the fudge reach the soft-ball stage, if not, it will not set. Remove from heat and set pot aside for 20 minutes, do not stir.

During the boil (disregard spoon, it should not be in there)

While the mixture cools (or while it’s boiling), line a 5x5” or 6x6” baking pan with wax paper and grease underneath to help the paper lay flat, grease a little on top as well. I used olive oil but butter works well too. You might have to improvise by using a square or rectangular tupperware container if you don’t have a baking dish this small. You don’t want the pan to be too big or the squares will be too thin.

After 20 minutes (this is a crucial step, you must let the fudge cool), add two teaspoons of vanilla and start stirring. You should be able to feel the mixture thicken up after about 5-10 minutes of constant stirring. Look for the fudge to change colour from dark to light brown/tan and watch for the mixture to dull down a bit, it will loose its glossiness once the mixture starts to thicken and cool.

Once you have reached this stage, pour mixture into lined dish and pat down with buttered fingers. Don’t wait too long to pour or the fudge will set in your pot. Refrigerate for an hour or so (or as long as you can stand it). I usually check on it after 30 minutes and press down firmly to help the fudge harden. Once the fudge has cooled completely, cut into squares and enjoy!

The finished product!

"Finger Food" Pancakes for Toddlers

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups spelt flour (or brown rice flour)

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or teff flour)

2 tsp. baking powder

3 tbsp. water + 1 tbsp. ground flax (set aside)

1 cup almond milk

2 1/2 tbsp. agave syrup (or 2 tbsp. pure maple syrup)

3 tbsp. sunflower oil (or grape seed oil, or extra virgin olive oil)

1 tbsp.. cinnamon

2 tbsp. grated carrot

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flours with baking powder.

2. In a small bowl, mix water with ground flax and set aside for a few minutes. 

3. In a small bowl whisk together almond milk, sunflower oil (or EVOO), agave (or maple syrup), cinnamon and grated carrot and add water and ground flax mixture.

4. Combine wet ingredients to dry and mix well. If the mixture is too thick add a little water until it's easy to pour.

5.  Heat frying pan over medium-high heat and lightly coat with EVOO. Pour 1 tbsp. of batter per pancake into the frying pan. Cook until each side is golden brown. This recipe freezes well and is a great healthy breakfast on the go!

Ruffled Party Streamers

This was a really fun project and very easy to do once you get going. Noah is two today, happy birthday Nojo! So I made some streamers for his party this Saturday.

First what you need to do is set your sewing machine to the longest straight stitch length, mine is 6. Then set it to the highest tension setting, mine is 9.

Use 3 reams of ordinary crepe paper streamers in any colour combination you like. Be sure they overlap enough so that they are all being sewn together properly. Let the machine do the feeding and watch the paper magically ruffle before your eyes! Be sure to back stitch each end so that the stitching doesn't unravel.

Use a pencil as a dowel to keep the streamers from getting tangled. Place the rolls of streamers on the floor in front of you and make sure they are all unrolling in the same direction. This will save you a lot of time so make sure you don't skip this step.

Happy Birthday Nojo!

Set the tension to the highest setting

Use your hands to guide the paper toward the needle

Make sure you have a furry helper

I had a lot of fun with this, so much that I've already started making decorations for Jayden's 1st birthday party! 

Healthy Mac & Cheese for Kids

This recipe is great, really tasty for the kids but full of nutrients for their growing bodies and minds. It's easy to prepare and makes enough for about 5 days. That's 5 prepared lunches in 20 minutes! The version that I made today includes tomato, but I've also made it with halved peas or edamame. Be creative!

Ingredients:
Organic quinoa pasta (brown rice pasta or whole wheat pasta works well too, just be sure to choose a dairy-free kind if you haven't introduced eggs yet. Better yet, choose dairy-free anyways, who needs dairy in their pasta? Not me!)
1 organic tomato, blanched and seeded
Organic mozzarella cheese, shredded
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Boil pasta until very soft but not mushy. Drizzle with EVOO so the noodles don't stick together. Blanch, peel and seed tomato, shred cheese.

Dice tomato, steam until tender, cut pasta into bite sized pieces.

Combine ingredients and refrigerate in airtight container. Nuke for 10-15 seconds before serving to warm slightly and melt the cheese. SEE? IT'S SO EASY!

Basil & Oregano Panini

Basil & Oregano Pesto

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh organic basil leaves (fairly packed)

1/4 cup fresh organic oregano leaves (fairly packed)

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup almonds

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Process almonds first then add in the rest of the ingredients. Blend in a food processor until smooth (you will have to scrape down the sides a few times). Refrigerate in an airtight container. If you have more than 2-3 people at your table, double the recipe because it doesn't make a lot. This pesto is also great with pasta. Try it with quinoa pasta or brown rice pasta with fresh sautéed veggies.

Ingredients:

Homemade bread (artisan, olive, pita or honey herb)

Basil & oregano pesto

Organic Mozzarella cheese, sliced

Organic heirloom tomatoes, sliced

Fresh ground pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat your panini press to med-high. Spread pesto on one side of your bread (or both if you like) and top with tomatoes and mozzarella. Finish with fresh ground pepper and baste outside with olive oil. Press until golden brown, enjoy!

Nature Walk Soap

Jayden and I went for a hike up on Burnaby Mountain today. Along the way, I collected some ferns, leaves flowers and pinecones. So I decided to make some more soap!

Pure vegetable glycerin with citrus and vanilla extract

Setting in the molds

Curing

I made a variety of shapes this time around

I was pleased with the way they turned out!

they will make great little gifts!

Tzatziki

I first tried this recipe when I was at Kits Beach about a month ago with my cousins. Their friends had brought a nice picnic spread and this was one of the delicious items up for grabs. I was raving about it for the rest of the day and have been making it once a week ever since. It's healthier and cheaper than buying prepared tzatziki and there's only four ingredients!

Ingredients:
3 cups plain organic yogurt
5 cloves garlic, diced and crushed
1/2 english cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 tsp. salt

slice the cucumber really thin into matchstick sized pieces

place the cucumber on a paper towel to soak up some of the moisture

dice and crush the garlic

combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well

return the yogurt back into the container and refrigerate. Best if served after a few hours.

Honey Herb Bread

This recipe is adapted from the deep fried bread served at P2B Bistro. It was incredible and I couldn't wait to get home and try baking a loaf just as tasty without having to deep fry it.  The rolls were dusted with fresh parmesan cheese and served with warm tomato chutney, amazing. Fortunately I was provided with a rough estimate of ingredients and after converting everything from grams to cups and tablespoons, I was ready to start my experiment. I used the same method of preparing the dough and baking it with steam as mentioned in a previous post for homemade artisan bread. This recipe will make 2-3 loaves, depending on how large you make them.

Ingredients: 

450ml warm water (about 100F)

1 1/2 tsp. dry yeast

3 cups organic, unsifted all-purpose white flour (or 1 1/2 cups white flour, 1 1/2 cups spelt flour)

3/4 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. organic sugar

1 tbsp. raw honey

50ml extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. fresh organic thyme, finely chopped

1 tsp. fresh organic rosemary, finely chopped

Directions:

Add yeast and warm water together to ferment and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and herbs. Mix honey with EVOO. Add yeast mixture to flour and mix well. Add honey and olive oil last and knead for a minute or two right in the bowl. Dough should be very wet but uniform. Cover mixing bowl with a cloth and let rise for 3 hours, the dough should double in volume. Refrigerate overnight in a lidded (but not airtight) container. I use my crock pot and glass lid, it works great.

On Baking Day you will need:

Wooden cutting board or pizza peel

Baking stone

Serrated knife

Corn meal and flour

Baking sheet for steam

1 cup hot tap water

wire cooling rack

parmesan cheese

Arrange the oven racks on the two lowest settings. Place the baking stone on the top rack and the broiler tray at the bottom. Prepare your wooden cutting board or pizza peel by dusting with a liberal coating of flour and then cornmeal on top to prevent sticking when sliding the loaf into the oven. 

Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1 pound (grapefruit sized) piece using a serrated knife. Hold the mass in your hands and use a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick to your hands. Don’t knead, just “cloak” and shape a loaf by gently stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off, it is not intended to be worked into the dough. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out and adhere during resting and baking. The correctly shaped final product will be smooth and cohesive. The entire process should not take more than 30-60 seconds.

Rest the loaf and let it rise for about 40 minutes on the flour/cornmeal covered pizza peel or wooden cutting board. It does not need to be covered during the rest period.

Twenty minutes before baking preheat the oven to 450F. 

Dust and slash: Dust your loaf liberally with flour which will allow the slashing knife to pass without sticking. Slash a ¼ inch deep cross, scallop or tic tac toe pattern into the top using a serrated knife.

After a 20 minute preheat, you’re ready to bake. With a quick forward jerking motion of the wrist, slide the loaf off the pizza peel onto the preheated baking stone. Quickly, but carefully pour about one cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and close the oven door to trap the steam. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes (I baked mine for 32) or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Because you’ve used wet dough, there is little risk of drying out the interior, despite the dark crust. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing. Serve with oil and vinegar for dipping or tzatziki and hummus, enjoy!