the whinery 2.0 » Food

Smarties & Basil Cookies

Elsa — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:45:08 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit it; basil and Smarties… it’s a peculiar pair.
I didn’t start out wanting to make basil and smarties cookies, I had leftover basil, not enough to make pesto and I didn’t want it to go to waste.
Lemon-lime basil cookies, that’s what I wanted – every refreshing lemony bite tastes like summer, and yet I was out of lemons and limes.
For some reason, maybe because it was the only candy I had lying around, I wondered what I’d get by infusing basil’s sweet subtle minty flavour into a Smarties cookie.

What I got were these Smarties & Basil cookies; rustic, crispy and slightly spicy from the basil and molasses

Smarties & Basil Cookies
INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup smarties
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark molasses
2 tablespoons basil, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and Smarties.
In another bowl, combine the vegetable oil, milk, vanilla, molasses and basil.
Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands to get the mixture well incorporated.
Roll dough into compact balls, place on a parchment paper-lined pan, and squish them down to form saucers.
Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!

Roasted Purple Potatoes

Elsa — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:45:20 +0000

Every year when purple potatoes start appearing at my local Whole Foods I buy them with a certain fervency that scares me a little. I’m never this passionate about anything!
They appear unceremoniously over a brief period of time, and disappear just as quickly. If you blink you might miss them.
I got purple potatoes for the first time a few years ago on a whim, and found that I really liked them.
Purple potatoes taste much like regular potatoes with an earthier and slightly nutty flavour.

Roasted Purple Potatoes with Roasted Okra and Black Beans

Similar to other like-coloured foods (like blueberries, eggplant, purple corn, etc) purple potatoes are rich anthocyanin, which acts as antioxidants.
Last year a small study came out that suggests that purple potatoes may help lower blood pressure.
But that is isn’t why I love these spuds, I like that they’re different and how marvelous they taste when roasted.
I don’t do much with these potatoes, I just roast them with a bit of olive oil and salt – the flavour is intense!

An Apple Pie

Elsa — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:45:49 +0000

Pushing Daisies was a charmingly quirky series about a pie-maker who could bring the dead back to life by touching them – a second touch would kill them again.
The characters lived in this visually stunning whimsical world, where they solved bizarre murders using the pie-maker’s abilities.
Pie was a central theme in the show, with much of the action taking place in the pie-maker’s shop, the Pie Hole.

Pushing Daisies made me really want to bake a pie! And to this day, I can’t think of baking a pie without thinking of myself as a ‘pie-maker’ – said in narrator Jim Dale’s voice.

I had a few firsts last year as far as culinary expeditions go; I baked my first apple pie!
I’ve been meaning to bake a pie for a while now; it’s on my to-make list, I’m just not ready to delve into the complexities of pie crusts yet.
In Pushing Daisies, the pie-maker’s girlfriend bakes Gruyère into the crust of the very special apple pie (laced with homeopathic antidepressants) she sends to her aunts.
One day I shall try my hands at the perfect flaky crust, there’s vegan coconut oil crust I’m itching to try.

Being my first try, I figured I’d be forgiven for using store-bought pie crust.
I chose the TJ’s crust for its simple ingredients; flour, butter, palm oil, water and salt.
And the pie filling is an old recipe I’d been holding on to for years, it’s simple too, apples, lemon juice, sugar and spices.

Unfortunately something went wrong and my crust fell apart, it thawed and broke into pieces.
I just piled them on the apples and hoped for the best.
In hindsight, I should have re-rolled the dough.
Still, the pie turned out really well for a first try.
I feel hopeful… I’m on my way to becoming a better pie-maker

Curried Carrot and Coconut Soup

Elsa — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:45:44 +0000

I wish I had a more sophisticated palate, sadly, I don’t think my palate developed beyond that of a ten-year-old’s.
I wish I was more open to all the wonderful varied food out there, yet there are so many things I just can’t bring myself to like – such is the plight of the picky eater.
I was at a fancy restaurant recently where everyone was excited to try roasted bone marrow, everyone but me, “I’m a vegetarian” I said – I’m beginning to hate that label, it feels limiting.
“That’s ok,” says the waiter, “We’ll find you something equally special.”
I ended up with an un-special plate of pasta with tomato sauce, and watched my dining companions literally moan with pleasure at every bite.
I should be eating that! I thought to myself, my people were sucking marrow from bones centuries before Fergus Henderson put roast bone marrow on the culinary map.

For over a decade I wouldn’t eat soup because my family kept reminding me that I hated soup as a child.
And then one day I was stuck in a cabin and all we had was minestrone, I didn’t want to seem irrational so I ate it. I realised then that maybe I didn’t hate soup after all, and now I can’t imagine why anyone would hate soup, especially with so many kinds out there.
Soups aren’t only heart-warming and nourishing; soups warm and nurture the soul.
Soups are healing, uplifting and comforting, there nothing more satisfying than a warm bowl of homemade soup on a cold dreary day, or when sick or feeling a little down.
I wish I made soup often – especially around this time of year when every day feels like a soup day; did you know that January was national soup month in the US?
I’ve been collecting soup recipes and working my way through them this winter…
I knew I was going to love this soup the minute I saw the ingredients; carrots, coconut milk, ginger and curry powder.

Curried Carrot and Coconut Soup (Slighty adapted from the Kitchn)
INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 – 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ habanero pepper
6 cups carrots, unpeeled and roughly chopped (about 6 – 8 medium-sized carrots)
3 ½ cups vegetable stock
1 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 ½ tablespoons freshly chopped ginger root
1 tablespoon curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat the coconut oil in a large soup pot and add the onions.
Sweat the onions on medium heat for about 7 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, pepper, carrots and cook for another 6 minutes.
Pour in the stock and coconut milk.
Add the ginger, curry powder and chili flakes.
Put a lid on the pot and cook until the carrots are softened, about 10 or 15 minutes.
When the carrots are soft, carefully blend the soup in batches in a blender or use an
immersion blender and puree until smooth.
Season with salt and pepper and garnish with herbs, chili flakes and more coconut milk if desired.
Enjoy!

Prep and cook time for this easy recipe is 30 – 40 minutes and serves about 6 – 8

This is by far one of the best meals I’ve ever made; the thing about this soup is that, it’s not just good… it’s really, really good. It‘s spicy, creamy, and savoury with a hint of sweetness from the carrots.
It’s also soothing, the week I made this, I had a bowl every night at dinner and could just feel my worries slip away with every spoon – it’s restorative.

Sweet Cashew Cream

Elsa — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:38:25 +0000

I have a sweet tooth, there’s no denying it, and I don’t make excuses for it –
I own it… which is why I’m always ten pounds away from my ideal weight.
I love healthy food too, almost as much as I love junk food, so I’m constantly on the lookout for food that is all healthy, sweet and junk-ey.
Because let’s face it, as blasé as I am about my sweet tooth, the potential health implications aren’t lost on me.
So while I’m trying to put my days of polishing off a pint of ice cream in two servings behind me, I still like to indulge.

This is where recipes like this sweet cashew cream comes in; it satisfies the sweet tooth but it’s not all junk food.
Cashew cream is used mainly in raw-food diets as a substitute for dairy; raw cashews are soaked overnight, and blended into a smooth cream that can be used in both sweet and savoury recipes.
For this sweet cashew cream, I used roasted and salted cashews –
Roasted cashews are sweeter with a rich nutty flavour.
And salt is the greatest flavour enhancer.

Sweet Cashew Cream
INGREDIENTS

1 cup roasted salted cashews (you can use cashew butter too)
1 cup vanilla almond milk (depends on desired thickness)
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
A drop of vanilla extract
Sprinkles (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a blender add almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract and cashews
Blend until smooth
Add a teaspoon of sprinkles if you want
Store in an airtight container and seal tightly, it’ll keep in the fridge for several days
Enjoy

This sauce is amazing! It’s delicious; I slather it over bagels, toast and crackers.
It’s wonderful over ice cream, cakes, and other pastries, and as a dip for fruit.
I like to experiment with other nut butters too, almond butter, peanut butter, etc.

Roasted Okra & Black Beans

Elsa — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:45:05 +0000

I probably wouldn’t have liked okra as an adult if I hadn’t grown up eating it.
It’s not like I really liked it growing up, in fact I’ve always been wary of okra.
Okra is one of those vegetables that divide people, some love it and some hate it.

Not everyone appreciates okra’s mucilage, but I remember my mom’s okro stews and soups… rich thick stews full of vegetables, meat and crab, and savoury tomatoey soups loaded with smoked fish.
Okra isn’t readily available in these parts, but every once in a while I’ll find them at the store, imported fresh from Mexico.
I buy it mostly for nostalgia reasons, and while I can’t recreate my mom’s awesome soups or stews, I still try…

Roasted okra and black beans – I’m all about simple recipes; which is why I love roasted vegetables, it’s easy and delicious.
Roasting cuts down the slime of the okra, it caramelizes and turns slightly crispy.
Combined with the other vegetables and black beans, it creates a perfectly intense melody of flavours.

Try it over rice or quinoa…

Roasted Okra and Black Beans
INGREDIENTS

1 pound okra, cut in ½ rounds
1 large onion
2 – 3 medium firm tomatoes
2 bell Peppers
2 carrots
2 tablespoons chopped mint
A splash of balsamic vinegar
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup loosely packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
Salt to taste
2 cups of cooked black beans

DIRECTIONS

Cut okra into ½ inch rounds
Prep and cut the rest of the vegetables into even bite size chunks
Add the okra to the rest of the vegetables and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, pepper flakes, cumin, garlic and salt, mix well to coat
Spread out in a single layer onto a foil lined baking pan.
Roast in an oven at 400 degrees f. for 15 – 25 minutes, until vegetables are tender and caramelized.
Add black beans, mix and garnish with chopped mint and serve
Enjoy!

Graham Flour Rolls

Elsa — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:35:21 +0000

Have I ever mentioned that I was baptised in the Presbyterian Church?
No? That’s ok; it’s not something that usually comes up in conversation.
Unless you find yourself on a long train ride, with a group going to a conference on baptism – then, you’ll have tell your baptism story and even say; “I guess I’m a Presbyterian, sort of.”
Do you know what else is ‘sort of Presbyterian’? Graham flour! (I know, stay with me for a second).
So back in the 19th century, Presbyterian Minister and presumably health food nut Rev. Sylvester Graham was convinced that processed white flour was ‘teh evilz’.
He invented Graham Bread believing that the bran and germ were healthiest and most nutritious part of the wheat and vital to health.
With Graham flour, named for Rev. Graham, the bran and germ of the wheat kernel are coarsely ground and added to finely milled endosperm to create coarse-textured flour.
I buy graham flour mostly because I like the texture; it’s similar to whole wheat but has a higher bran content and not as dense.
It makes the most wonderful bread; nutty, lightly sweet and soft.

Graham Flour Rolls
(This recipe uses a bread machine)
INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ cups water
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 ¼ cups graham flour
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer.
Select the Dough cycle, and Start.
When the cycle ends, let the dough rest in the bread machine pan for up to an hour.
Divide dough into 6 – 8 pieces, shape into balls to form rolls.
Place rolls on lightly floured or parchment lined baking sheets, and lightly flour.
Cover, and let rise in a draft free place for approximately one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake rolls in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Warm Chickpea Salad with Cumin and Garlic

Elsa — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:45:09 +0000

I watched an amusing little French movie the other day called L’Italien. It’s about a man of Algerian descent who passes himself off as an Italian in order to work at a Maserati dealership in Nice. His dotting parents on the other hand, think he works in Rome.
He agrees to honour his ailing father’s request to fast for the month of Ramadan – and thereon, the hilarity and hijinks ensues.
And while the movie has nothing to do with chickpeas or cumin, there’s a subtle food theme in the movie that had me thinking about food… aromatic, hearty and flavourful dishes from the Mediterranean. There’s a funny scene where the protagonist almost slips and brings up couscous to his girlfriend whom he’s also deceiving.

I’ve already written ad nauseum of my love of chickpeas; so l knew this chickpea salad was going to be one of my favourite salads the moment I found it.

There’s usually a jar of cooked chickpea in the fridge, cooked from scratch – it tastes so much better and it’s so much more economical than canned.

It’s spicy and filing and uses simple and wholesome ingredients.
Cumin seeds add warmth to the flavour; I used ground cumin because I didn’t have any cumin seeds.
It’s a great wintertime salad, convenient, with plenty leftover to eat over the course of a week, for lunch or quick dinners.

On a particularly cold dark night like today when I got home tired, I paired it with a side of savoury couscous, it works pretty well with quinoa too, or bulgur wheat.

Warm Chickpea Salad with Cumin and Garlic (from The Kitchn)
INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds (I used ground)
1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes, or to taste
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 cups of cooked chickpeas (or 2 15-ounce cans)
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
¾ cup Italian parsley, leaves only
Small handful fresh mint leaves
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¾ pound English cucumber
Flaky sea salt

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat.
Add the cumin and crushed red pepper when the oil is hot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about one minute or until the cumin is toasted.
The cumin will darken slightly in color, and smell toasty.
Turn the heat to medium low and add the garlic.
Cook, stirring frequently, for about three minutes or until the garlic is turning golden. Do not let it scorch or turn brown.
Add the chickpeas and the chopped tomatoes and turn the heat up to medium high. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chickpeas are warmed through and are shiny with oil. Turn off the heat.
Strip any remaining stems away from the Italian parsley. Finely mince the parsley and the mint and toss this with the chickpeas.
Stir the lemon juice and zest into the chickpeas.
Peel the cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon.
Dice the cucumber into small, 1/2-inch square cubes. Toss the cucumber with the chickpeas.
Taste for salt and if necessary, add flaky sea salt to taste.
Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Oatmeal Coconut and Almond Cookies w/ Pomegranate Molasses

Elsa — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:45:04 +0000

I woke up very early this morning to get to work for a 7AM conference call; living in a time zone hours behind the rest of the world is a pain sometimes.
I still wish I were an early riser though; just before 8, I saw the sun shimmer and glow, bursting its way onto the morning sky, and thought “so that’s what sunrise looks like” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a sunrise, It looked so yellow and dramatic.
Speaking of meetings… we usually have team meetings on Mondays at my place of work.
We take turns chairing these meetings, and whoever’s turn it is to chair is supposed to bring treats – usually muffins, bagels and the sort.

And for as long as I’ve been there, like clockwork I’ve always brought banana bread!
This isn’t because I love banana bread, or that I make killer banana bread; on the contrary, I don’t make it – I buy it from Capers and it’s easy.
Whenever it ‘s been my Monday to chair, I’d pop into Capers on Sunday night and pick up a loaf of banana bread, or better yet beg someone to get it for me.
I’ve literally been this lazy for years – until last month.
Maybe it was the excitement of the season but it suddenly seemed ridiculously boring to do yet another store-bought banana bread.
Perhaps I was in festive baking mood, I thought about the oatmeal coconut and almond cookies I made for the half-marathon and figured it’ll make a pleasant morning snack
This time I opted to add pomegranate molasses. I’ve been on a pomegranate molasses kick lately; I put it in everything for that sour tart taste.

Oatmeal Coconut and Almond Cookies w/ Pomegranate Molasses
INGREDIENTS

¼ cup butter
¼ cup turbinado sugar
1 medium banana, mashed
2 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons nut milk
1 cup rolled oats
1 ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour (regular whole wheat flour works too)
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup sliced almonds
¼ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of nutmeg (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy
Add banana, molasses, milk and vanilla and mix well
Add the dry ingredients (the remaining ingredients) and mix well with a spatula.
The dough should stick together, depending on the kind of flour you use; you may need to add a few tablespoons of milk or flour (until cookie dough consistency is reached)
Place spoonfuls of cookies 2 inches apart and flatten slightly with a fork
Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until they begin to brown around the edges.
Cool cookies in cookie sheets for about 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bagel for Dinner

Elsa — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:12:58 +0000

The microwave is on the fritz, so I had to make other plans for dinner.
AB&J… almond butter and jam bagel for dinner