So, I had some ripe bananas, finals and stress.
What better way to beat the two, but to bake some bread.
I baked some guilt free, vegan, banana, walnut, coconut, and dark chocolate bread with white and whole wheat flour and ate guilelessly, while I stressed out over my finals!
I followed the recipe almost to a T.
You can find the full recipe here.
So, last weekend, I met up with my old co-workers for a bagel brunch….
I baked fresh home-made bagels: sun-dried tomato, olive and jalapeno.
and visited the Smithsonian Zoo to see Bao Bao, who was leaving 😦
We will miss you, Bao Bao!
I really enjoyed my Cherry Friands.
A lot.
I have been eagerly awaiting the Cherry season so I can make them again with fresh cherries.
Meanwhile, I decided to try some Cranberry Friands, mostly following this recipe. It makes 12 friands and here’s how I made mine.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp baking power
1 stick butter
5 egg whites
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup coconut flakes
2 tbsp white chocolate bits
a handful of slivered almonds (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees F. Prepare two muffin tins.
In a bowl mix together flour, almond meal, and baking powder. Whisk together egg whites, melted butter and sugar. Combine the two and mix well. Fold in cranberries, coconut flakes and chocolate bits. Mix well.
Scoop and add batter to muffin tins about 3/4 full. Sprinkle some slivered almonds and bake for 25 minutes.
Enjoy with a cuppa tea!
Since I discovered Chia pudding last fall, it has soon become one of my favorite breakfast items. It’s healthy, easy and delicious, so what’s not to like?
My basic recipe is given below along with some topping choices I have tried.
Servings: 2
Prep time 5 minutes. Total Time: 2-4 hours or overnight.
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut milk (or almond milk)
1/4 cup chia seeds
1-2 tsp maple syrup
dash of lemon juice (optional)
toppings as desired, see below for some I have tried.
Mix all three ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Refrigerate. Mix after two hours again.
Serve with fresh fruit and nuts.
Fresh blueberries, banana and walnuts chia.
Home made granola, kumquat and roasted pumpkin seeds.
Cherry almond delight or add some dark chocolate chips and make it a Cherry Garcia!
Berry walnut crunch
Tropical paradise with mango, coconut and pistachio
I slacked off in 2016. But that is understandable. My schedule was so busy, that I had less time to try new recipes. I did try some new, retried several old, and tasty recipes!
Here are some favorite recipes from 2016.
In January, I kicked off the year, with some another fun Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens recipes. This one is a keeper!
I even tried two roll recipes: Jalapeno, Scallion and Garlic and Sun-dried Tomato and Jalapeno. Both were so delicious, that I continued to make them throughout the year!
I attempted the 21-day beach body diet in early 2016, and here’s my version of Bulghur Wheat Upma, designed to meet the container requirement (Disclaimer: I am not a certified Beach Body coach, so use at your own discretion!)
Another fun recipe in February from the beach body diet was the Brown Rice Paella.
March was all about Cauliflower Nirvana. Period!
Come April, I put all else aside for a two week vacation down under. What an incredible trip!
May is always, typically about Cherries.
I also experimented with other recipes like Mango Coconut Scones
And learnt to make Bagels… Sun Dried Tomato and Jalapeno bagels, of course 🙂
Summertime, to beat the heat, I experimented with many Popsicle recipes, many of them with mango or cherries: my two favorite fruits.
I maintained a scant patio garden this summer, which was plagued by over zealous squirrels. The most exciting vegetable from my patio garden this year was zucchini!
August was about Savory Sun-dried Tomato Kalamata Olive and Jalapeno bread.
Two fun recipes from September included, plunging into Cauliflower Rice and Stir Fried Vegetables.
And these delicious Cherry Friands!
And another variation of the Quinoa Bisibele Bath.
October, I found Mango Chia Pudding, and it was terrific. It has fast become my go-to breakfast items!
November was incredibly busy. Come December, I did try the Tian.
But, December is all about the holidays… about Airplane Cookies!
Have a very Happy New Year!
Hope to see you back here next year!
Lately, I have been enjoying chia pudding for breakfast. My favorite combination is using mango!
Ingredients:
1 cup lite coconut milk
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 tbsp of maple syrup
1 mango
In a bowl, mix the coconut milk and chia seeds thoroughly.
Peel and dice the mango. Place roughly half in a food processor and blend to a pulp. Transfer the pulp to the milk mixture. Add maple syrup and mix well. Top with the rest of the diced mango.
Refrigerate overnight and enjoy the next morning for breakfast!
Makes 3-4 servings.
I have been wanting to try this bread for sometime. While I was reluctant to turn on the oven considering the temperatures, I am glad I finally did recently…
The only change I made to the original recipe, is to add 1 chopped jalapeno and reduce the cheese in the recipe.
It’s savory, fun and delicious with some soup for that office day meal!
Go here for the recipe.
Enjoy!
Links:
Check out A Soup A Week for some delicious soup recipes!
Cherries are most economic in April/May, and I hoard up on them. More than I can eat anyway.
Sometimes too many!
While they are refreshing and fun for that late afternoon snack, there are many cherry recipes I love to try when this happens…
Salads
Baking
Healthy Whole Wheat Cherry and Chocolate Muffins
Ice Cream
Cherry, Dark Chocolate and Coffee Popsicle
Cherry Swirl, Dark Chocolate and Cherry Bits
Refreshing Drinks
Okay, I admit, I have never eaten this combination ever.
Except this past weekend. If you know me, you know this is my favorite combination.
Every time we headed out of town back in CA, we loved to pick up assorted bagels and cream cheese: Jalapeno, Sun dried tomato, blue berry, strawberry and more. California bakeries also were renowned for assorted cream cheese and assorted bagels.
But, I have never come across a Jalapeno and Sun dried bagel. Until recently. My recipe is loosely based on this one.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup warm water
2 tsp active yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 jalapenos, minced (de-seeded, optional)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked and sliced
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
Pre- heat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine warm water, yeast, salt and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add flour, jalapenos; mix into a ball.
Knead for 10 to 12 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until dough is stiff. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
Divide into 6 equal pieces and form into balls. Punch a hole in middle with floured finger and gently pull to enlarge hole to 2 inches.
Place bagels on greased baking sheet; cover with tea towel and allow to rise for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oven to broil. Prepare water bath and put it on to boil.
After bagels have risen for 20 minutes, broil for 1 1⁄2 minutes on each side.
Once water bath is boiling, reduce heat. Place bagels, 3 at a time, in water for 1 1⁄2 minutes, turning after 45 seconds.
Drain and place on greased baking sheet. If desired, brush with egg wash (beat egg with 1 tablespoon water).
Bake at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes.
Enjoy warm with your favorite cream cheese!
Now that we are well into spring, the grocery stories are overflowing with fresh fruit and vegetables. I picked up some assorted fruits and my mind was on baking.
Cakes, muffins or scones?
Scones are undoubtedly one of my favorite snack. While I frequently bake cherry or cranberry scones, I have never baked mango scones. This seemed to be the perfect time to experiment with baking a mango scone.
I have a standard healthy recipe for scones I use. and here is the version adapted for a mango scone.
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter (or add more for a flaky scone)
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cardamon powder
1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup + a little more coconut flakes
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder,cardamon powder, and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the cold butter or use your hands to mix in. Add buttermilk and mix in. Fold in diced mango and coconut flakes and pecans and mix gently into a ball.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circle and 1/2 in thick slab and cut into triangles or scoop 1-2 tbsp onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Brush with some melted butter and sugar crystals (optional). Bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 12 scones.
Enjoy a warm scone with some butter or jam or as is with a nice cuppa tea or coffee. Or Glaze with some mango flavored icing for a sweeter scone.
If not ready to eat, you can freeze the scones in a freezer bag. When ready to eat remove from freezer and let it return to room temperature or pop it in a microwave for 10-15 seconds and it is ready to eat!
Note: I tend to use less sugar and less butter. For a sweeter and more flaky scone adjust sugar and butter to suit your personal preference.
Fly 'n Cook 