An Abundant Kitchen Talk Notes and Resources

This Saturday's event at My Dead Aunt's Bookstore was a successful and fun event.  A big thanks to everyone who came out; it was great to see your smiling faces!  I delivered a talk covering the basics of plant-based eating and we reviewed a few of the many vegan and vegetarian cookbooks from the collection that I had the opportunity to curate for the store.  We also snacked on some samples of a few of the recipes from the cookbooks to inspire everyone to see what they could make at home.   We covered quite a few resources, and I wanted to pull them all together for everyone to reference (plus a few more) .  Even if you didn't have the opportunity to come to the event in person, you will find helpful information below.

We sampled:

Donut Holes  Here is a previous blogpost I penned about this recipe which is from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen (I substituted both dried mango and apricots in the event batch)

Chocolate Brownie Bites were this recipe from Deliciously Ella's blog (without hemp hearts, added cacao nibs) and also a version in her cookbook

Jerk Spiced Tofu - from the cookbook The Vegetarian Grill

Green Smoothie - similar to this one from Kris Karr, subbing frozen pineapple and mango for the apple

Where do you get your protein on a plant-based diet?

Movies about healthy eating

Books about healthy eating/plant-based diet

Cookbooks



Thanks for reading!

Hot Lemon Ginger Tea

This winter is starting off cold and damp for where I live this year.  It's the kind of weather that makes you want to snuggle in with a good book or movie and a steaming mug.  This tea has the refreshing tartness of lemonade with a slight tingle from ginger.  This delicious beverage offers both comfort and the health benefits of vitamin C and antioxidants that are anti-inflammatory and immunity boosting.  If you prefer to avoid caffeine, you can use a decaffeinated green tea or choose an herbal tea like lemon, mint, or hibiscus instead.

Hot Lemon Ginger Tea

1 ginger tea bag (I used Yogi brand)

1 green tea bag (I used Celestial Seasonings brand)

1/2 lemon, washed and sliced

Sweetener, to taste (maple syrup, agave nectar, stevia, or any favorite sweetener)

1-2 slices fresh ginger root (optional)

Boiling water

In a large mug (at least 10 oz), place the sliced lemon and a small amount of sweetener (I used dried stevia from my garden which is what those dark green flecks in the cup are plus a teaspoon of maple syrup).  With a spoon, mash the lemon slices, sweetener and ginger (if using) together to release some of the juice and oil from the lemon.  Add both a green tea bag and ginger tea bag and fill the mug with boiling water.  Let steep for 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags.  Stir and adjust by adding more sweetener if desired.  Enjoy!

   

Thanks for reading!

If you liked this post, check out some other recipes found here.  

Easy chocolate superfood truffles

Chia seed coated truffles with cacao nibs and cacao dusted truffles with dried cherries and pecans

There are holiday treats everywhere you turn at this time of year.  So that I have something that seems decadent without straying away from my healthy eating program.   These little whole food bites are not only a decadent answer to a craving for something sweet, but they are packed with superfood nutrition and antioxidants found in raw cacao and maca powders, dried cherries, cocoa nibs and chia seeds.  I like to keep a batch stored in the freezer because I like the chewy, caramel-like texture they take on from being frozen.  These were my substitute for the Chunky candy bars that were in the office all during Halloween.

These just take a few minutes to blend together in a food processor.  They can be rolled into large marble sized balls or patted out into a pan and chilled for 30 minutes before cutting into fudge size squares.  In either case, store in a sealed container between rows of parchment paper in the freezer for a more chewy consistency or the fridge for a softer truffle-like bite.

Easy chocolate superfood truffles

1 cup tightly packed, pitted medjool dates (approximately 12 large dates)

3 Tbsp raw cacao powder (plus extra for coating balls)

2 Tbsp chia seeds 

1 Tbsp maca powder

5 Tbsp almond butter (or other nut or seed butter of choice)

1/2 cup pecans, chopped (or other nuts of your choice - optional)

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener of choice)
1 tsp vanilla extract or powder
1/4 - 1/2 cup add-ins of your choice (cocoa nibs or mini chocolate chips, dried fruit such as cherries, cranberries, coconut shreds, or diced apricots)

Into the bowl of your food processor, put everything but the add-ins and process until smooth.  This may take awhile, but be patient and use a rubber spatula to push down the mixture from the sides often.  If the mixture seems too dry, add a few drops of warm water or plant based milk to help loosen the mixture.  Once the mixture is smooth, add any desired fruits, nuts or nibs and pulse a few times to combine without breaking them up too much, or mix them in by hand.  Take about 2 tablespoons of mixture and roll into a ball by hand, then roll in cacao powder, chopped nuts or coconut shreds. Repeat with the remaining mixture.  These can be eaten right away or stored in the refrigerator or freezer between sheets of parchment paper.

Makes about 12 - 16 treats.

Thanks for reading!

Summer Harvest Salad

Summer Harvest Salad

As summer draws to a close and the warm weather fruits and vegetables are at their peak of ripeness, it is easy to create a colorful, nutritious dish with just a few fresh ingredients from your garden, local farmers market or produce section of the grocery store.  This salad requires no cooking.  It is a great dish for summer picnics or potlucks or when it's too hot to cook.  This dish comes together in very little time because the season's best ingredients need very little to bring out their full flavor.   With the addition of some grilled tofu, fish or chicken and some crusty bread, you have a light meal ready in no time.

Summer harvest salad

2-3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
2 ears of fresh corn, shuck and remove kernels from cob
1/4 ro 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 lemon
micro-greens or sprouts
fresh chopped herbs of choice (basil, thyme, mint)
sea salt and pepper
olive oil (optional)

Arrange the tomato slices on a serving platter.  Sprinkle the corn kernels over the tomato slices.  Sprinkle the onions over the corn.  Sprinkle the chopped herbs over the onions.  Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.  Top with some micro-greens or sprouts.  Squeeze the lemon over the salad and drizzle with olive oil (if using).  Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Thanks for reading!

Harvest from my garden

Discovering aquafaba - Vegan Lemon Pound Cake

Pound cake is a favorite dessert from my childhood, and every family seems to have a prized recipe.  My Aunt Carolyn makes one of the best as does my friend Lisa.  Now, how to make this delicious treat vegan friendly...

I was inspired by Popsugar's recipe for a vegan version of Starbuck's lemon pound cake and research into aquafaba (canned chickpea water) as an egg substitute.  Vegan baking can have mixed results as the chemistry isn't always quite right when you substitute for an ingredient like eggs, let alone all the dairy products in a recipe.  The finished recipe can sometimes be quite dense and sometimes more soggy than the original version; usually still edible, but not always as satisfying as imagined. That being said, I've had mostly good success with my vegan baking adventures because I do so much research to learn from others' mistakes beforehand.  I am happy that the aquafaba worked well and that I again have a great pound cake recipe for special occasions.

Vegan Lemon Pound Cake

makes 12 slices

Lemon cake:
1 1/2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup almond meal (ground raw almonds)
1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup oil (coconut, olive, canola)

2/3 cup aquafaba (water drained from canned chickpeas)
Juice from half a small lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

grated lemon rind from half a small lemon
2 teaspoons almond extract

Lemon Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar

Juice from half a small lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

grated lemon rind from half a small lemon

1 -3 teaspoons non-dairy milk

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. 
2. Lightly oil or spray a large loaf pan.
3. In the medium bowl add the milk, aquafaba, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla extract, grated lemon rind and mix well.
4. Make a well in your dry ingredients, pour in the wet and stir until just combined and fairly smooth. 
5. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan, and bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Let sit for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
7. Whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and rinding for the icing and drizzle in just enough milk until you have a smooth icing that is not too thin.  
8. Drizzle icing on top of the completely cool cake.

I'll definitely be ready with this cake next spring when the strawberries are ripe in the garden to make a strawberry shortcake.

Thanks for reading!

Resource Library - when creativity needs inspiration

Some of my tools for creativity:  books, magazines, videos and art supplies

I'm always looking for a good book or website to get my creative spark ignited and get the next project going.  Every room of our house seems to be filled with books of one kind or another, tablets with access to ebook selections, blogs and podcasts and the Internet have all become our endless library that is open 24 hours a day.  My favorites are still books from second hand book shops, thrift stores, online used book sellers and The Book Thing in Baltimore, MD.  These provide me with frugal ways to keep my collection refreshed as well as an outlet to give retired selections a new home.  There are so many options that I sometimes have a hard time narrowing down my choices so I have time to actually to read them all or create the projects they inspire, but I enjoy taking in as much as I can.

I wanted to share some of my favorites with you so I created a resource library page on the Resourceful Cookie website.  You'll find my favorites cookbooks, gardening references, books on art techniques and inspiration of all kinds.  I'll keep updatng it as I find new resources, so check back from time to time.

If you have favorite books, movies or websites please share in the comments below.  I'm always looking for something new to explore and share with others.

Thanks for reading!

Kitchen adventures: Vegan parmesan sprinkles

Vegan parmesan sprinkles on popcorn

I'm always looking for creative ways to pack more nutrition into any recipe but still have it taste great.  I'm always grating veggies into my recipes to replace some of the fat; like finely shredded zucchini or carrots into muffins, pancakes and waffles.  I also add a handful or two of spinach or kale to any smoothie without it changing the flavor but providing a vitamin and fiber boost.

Another thing I like to add to boost nutrition is spirulina.  It has been around in health food stores for quite a while, but is becoming more widely known as "superfoods" are gaining popularity.  It is a blue-green algae that is packed with nutrients.  Below is an infographic explaining the benefits of spirulina, and you can also learn more here.

Add some to your favorite homemade salad dressing or smoothie like in this smoothie bowl.

This bowl contains a spinach, raspberry, frozen banana and coconut water smoothie enriched with spirulina that is topped with granola, coconut, raspberries and drizzled with fig syrup.  Fantastic for breakfast or a snack.

Here's another tasty way to give spirulina a try as pictured at the top of the post:

Vegan parmesan sprinkles

makes approximately 1/3 cup

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons ground hemp seeds
1 teaspoon spirulina powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

Put all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
To serve, sprinkle over pasta, popcorn, soup or salad.
Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

I hope you give it a try.

Thanks for reading!

Potato vegetable fritters

Potato vegetable fritters

Spring gardening season is in full swing.  After a full day at the day job and trying to squeeze in some gardening before dark, dinner prep time gets squeezed.  Not wanting to fall back on takeout or prepared foods, we have been eating simple, but very tasty meals.  We adapted this original recipe for zucchini potato fritters to what we had on hand and increased the recipe to nearly triple so they could be our entree with a salad and to have leftovers for lunch the next day.  These little fritters were quick to prepare and tasty so will surely make repeat appearances on our menu.

Potato vegetable fritters

makes approximately 15

• Add salt and pepper to taste.  

• Roll about ⅓ cup of the mixture into a ball and then flatten to make a small patty.

• If you have time, allow the patties to rest in the refrigerator to firm up for about an hour or freezer for 20-30 minutes.  (We didn’t have time and our potatoes were room temperature, so we cooked them right away, but if you are using freshly cooked hot potatoes, some cooling will be necessary to prevent the fritter from falling apart.)  

• Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and coat the bottom with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  

• Cook the patties without crowding until golden brown on each side.

• Drain on a paper towel and serve with your favorite sauce like ketchup, bbq, marinara or sweet and sour,

3 medium sized potatoes, cooked and grated or roughly mashed (removing the peel is optional)

2-3 zucchini or yellow squash, grated

2 carrots, grated

½ onion, chopped or grated

1-2 cloves, garlic, minced or grated

½ cup peas (frozen or fresh)

½-¾ cup whole wheat flour (more or less depending on the moisture in the vegetables)

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp dried thyme, ground sage, ground rosemary or your favorite herbs (optional)

sea salt and pepper to taste

oil for cooking (we used olive oil)

( I used a food processor fitted with a small shred disk to grate the cooked potatoes squash, carrots, onion and garlic , one after another into the food processor bowl.)

Put the grated vegetables into a large mixing bowl.  

Add in the peas, ½ cup flour, baking powder, herbs and mix well.  

Add more flour if needed to make a very stiff batter (if it is too soft, these will fall apart when cooking).  

These are also a great leftover grab and go snack right out of the refrigerator.

I hope you are inspired to still make simple homemade food even when time is short.  Your health and your tastebuds will benefit.

Thanks for reading!

Salad greens picked fresh from the spring garden

Kitchen adventures: vegan chickpea omelet

Chickpea omelet topped with sauteed zucchini, sweet peppers, mushrooms, onions, garlic and tomatoes

It was one of those days that I had an armful of great veggies from the garden, and I wanted something light to take advantage of my harvest.  I decided to give a chickpea omelet a try.  The chickpea base was a perfect way to showcase some of the best of the garden harvest while providing plenty of protein.  It would also taste great topped with your favorite pasta sauce or any leftover veggies you have on hand.

Chickpea omelet

2 cups chickpea flour
2 tablespoons flaxmeal
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2  cup non-dairy milk + 1/2 cup water
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs of your choice (I used thyme and parsley)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

In a mixing bowl, stir together all the ingredients except the olive oil.  Add more water if necessary to make a consistency like pancake batter.

Heat a heavy skillet on medium heat.  Add oil and saute onions and garlic until fragrant and the onions are translucent.  Pour in the chickpea batter and cook until the top is set.  Optionally, If you would like to brown the top, run it under the broiler for a few minutes or flip the omelet onto a plate and slide it back into the pan to brown.   To serve, top with your favorite vegetables lightly sauteed in a little olive oil and garlic or a favorite pasta sauce .

Thanks for reading!

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Sunny zinnias in the garden

Kitchen adventures: salad spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce (vegan and raw)

  

Salad spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce

The memory of summer is fading fast here, but there are still warm afternoons where you might want something light for lunch or dinner.  These fresh spring rolls come together quickly and can be made with whatever vegetables you like and have on hand.

Spring salad rolls with peanut dipping sauce

Dipping sauce

¼ cup peanut butter or other nut butter

3/4 cup very hot water
1 tablespoon Braggs amino acids or soy sauce
2 teaspoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

2 tablespoons olive oil

chili pepper, ,pepper sauce or chopped fresh hot peppers to taste

1. Stir together the peanut butter and hot water in a small bowl until smooth.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until thoroughly combined. Set aside at room temperature while making the rolls.

Salad rolls

makes approximately 12

12 cucumber spears

1 cup grated carrot
1 cup packed mung bean sprouts
1 ripe avocado, sliced lengthwise into 12 even pieces
12 lettuce leaves or 2 cups shredded Napa cabbage

1/2 cup grated radish

¼ c. fresh mint, Thai basil or cilantro, coarsely chopped

tofu strips, plain or marinated in Braggs amino acids or soy sauce, garlic powder and olive oil

12 rice spring roll wrappers

1. Place each ingredient in a separate bowl or plate.

2. Fill a wide, shallow bowl with warm water. Place one spring roll wrapper in the bowl and let it soak until limp, about 5 seconds. Lay the wrapper down flat on your work surface. In the upper center section of the wrapper, place 1 piece of lettuce or small bed of about 2 tablespoons shredded cabbage. You will want to leave at least 1 in. at the bottom of the wrapper uncovered; no need to leave any space at the top. In a compact vertical line, arrange a cucumber spear, avocado slice and tofu strip, small amount (approximately 1 generous tablespoon) of the carrot, bean sprouts  and radish plus a sprinkle (approximately 1 teaspoon) of the mint, basil or cilantro.

3. Fold the bottom edge of the wrapper on top of the filling. Then tightly (but gently) pull the left edge of the wrapper over the filling and the folded bottom edge and then fold the right edge of the wrapper over. It may be helpful to put pressure on the filling with your fingertips to make it as compact as possible while rolling.  Keeping the filling as compact as possible, roll the filling in the wrapper. Press the edges of the wrapper together to close. Repeat until all 12 spring rolls are assembled.

4. Serve with peanut sauce

Any leftover sauce makes a great salad dressing.  

Thanks for reading!

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Kitchen Adventures: A secret to fluffy vegan pancakes

Fluffy vegan pancakes

I have been doing quite a bit of experimenting with vegan baking with some success...and some results that were more suitable to the compost heap.  Getting the texture right and enough lift in vegan baked goods seems to be my biggest challenge.  I've had my fair share of flops, but I keep working at it to get things just right.

I've been struggling to get a nice fluffy vegan pancake.  Substituting flax meal and water for the egg in traditional recipes changes the chemistry and you don't get quite the same rising action.  I also tend to put some type of vegetable in just about every dish I make which allows me to reduce or eliminate the oil and add a little more nutrition, but it effects the density and height of my flapjacks as well.  I have found a little yeast is a magic ingredient that seems to give just enough extra loft to make my pancakes as fluffy as I like.

These pancakes have zucchini incorporated in the batter

Whole grain pancakes (vegan)

makes about 8 medium pancakes

2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon raw sugar or other sweetener
1 cups almond (or other non-dairy) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1 cup whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 cup finely grated zucchini, carrot or raw sweet potato
Vegetable or coconut oil for cooking

Dissolve the yeast and sweetener in the 1/2 cup warm water and let sit to get frothy while you mix the rest of the ingredients.  In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flax seed meal, flour, oats, baking powder and soda and salt).  Stir in the grated vegetable and toss to coat the shreds.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients (yeast mixture, almond milk and vanilla).  Mix well, but do not overmix or it will toughen the pancakes.  If the batter is too thick, add a little more almond milk.  If the batter is too thin, add a bit more flour.  Let the batter sit for 10 minutes before cooking.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and grease with a little oil.  Cook the pancakes on the first side until bubbles appear in the batter, then flip and cook on the other side until golden.  Serve with maple syrup and fruit.

Thanks for reading!

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Homemade bread - an easy basic recipe

Pizza makings:  dough, the last jar of homemade tomato sauce from last summer's harvest, pesto frozen from last year's basil harvest, freshly picked spinach, spring onions and oregano 

There's nothing like the smell of fresh bread baking.  With commercial breads containing a list of ingredients that stretch across half of the package, I'm even more inclined to try to make more of ours at home as often as I can.  It's pretty easy to make at home with much of the prep being hands off rising and baking times.  There aren't many ingredients so I can turn out a loaf of bread or a pizza crust at well under a dollar each.

Onion sandwich rolls made by adding chopped spring onions to the dough

I have a new favorite basic dough recipe that I adapted from one for Sun-dried Tomato Bread in The Italian Cooking Encyclopedia that I picked up for free at The Book Thing.  The texture is soft because contains both milk and oil.  I eliminated the herbs and tomatoes from the original recipe to make it more versatile for everyday use.  I also added some whole grain flours to make it a healthier everyday staple.  I've turned this dough into pizzas, plain loaves and onion sandwich rolls with equal success.  It would also make great bread sticks or cinnamon buns too.

In the cooler weather, I bake inside in my oven.  In the steamy summer months, I bake on my gas grill on my pizza stone as our steamy weather makes it a challenge to keep the house cool as it is.  On my wish list is a brick oven for our back yard (so many home projects, so little time!). 

Thick crust pizza with spinach, mushrooms, garlic and sweet peppers on the left and a thinner crust sun-dried tomatoes, onions and peppers on the right - both of these pictured are vegan

Basic rich bread dough

Makes 2 large loaves, 3 thin crust 14-inch pizzas or 2 thick crust 16-inch pizzas or 12 sandwich rolls

3 cups bread flour

3 cups whole wheat flour plus extra as needed and for kneading

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons raw sugar

1 tablespoon yeast (or 2 packets)

1 cup of warm milk (I used almond)

1 cup of warm water 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + extra for the bowl

In a mixing bowl stir together the flours, salt and sugar.  Make a well in the middle and pour in the warm milk, water and olive oil.  Either by hand or with a mixer fitted with a bread hook, mix the ingredients until you have a fairly smooth dough.  On a floured surface, turn out the dough and hand knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.  Pour a about a tablespoon of olive oil in the mixing bowl and swirl to coat the sides.  Return the dough to the bowl and flip it over to coat all over with olive oil. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until doubled.

Punch down the dough, and shape it as desired into loaves or rolls and let rise for about 45 more minutes before baking.  Pizza crusts do not need to  rise again and can be topped immediately after shaping.  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (450 degrees F for pizza).  (If you have a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven, too).  Bake for about 30-40  minutes for loaves or about 20 minutes for rolls or pizzas.

I have also frozen the dough after the first rise by putting it in an olive oil coated freezer bag.  To sue, thaw at room temperature and proceed with shaping as desired and baking.

I hope you give baking a fresh loaf of bread a try soon. 

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Whole wheat sandwich rolls

Pizza 

Vegan baking: Banana Walnut Muffins

Banana walnut muffin in an antique muffin top pan

This is the final day of me participating in the 10-day Fed Up Challenge (eliminating all processed sugars, sweeteners and substitutes - goodbye agave nectar, maple syrup and stevia).  Even though I eat a fairly healthy mostly whole food diet, it took a little getting used to.  My inherited from my dad sweet tooth adjusted in a few days after the initial shock.  While I was making a pot of vegetable soup one day, I thought that a nice muffin would be just the thing to serve with a steaming bowl...until I remembered the challenge.  I began to think, would it be possible to make a healthy, vegan, sugar free muffin that didn't taste like a rock?  Would it even be a muffin if it met all those criteria?  I figured, what have I got to lose...the worst thing that would happen is my compost pile would have a few muffin rocks in it if all went wrong.

My starting inspiration was a recipe for Vegan Banana Walnut muffins for Two on the Chocolate and Carrots website.  I doubled the recipe because I needed to feed three.  I made a few changes to make it whole grain, added an extra super-ripe banana and softened dates to replace the processed sugar in the recipe and added cinnamon for more natural sweetness.  After a suspenseful 20 minutes in the oven, they came out looking like chocolate chip cookies (a good start) and smelling wonderful - but how did they taste?  They turned out to be tender and delicious.  They were sweet enough for my newly adjusted palate and I'll certainly be making these again even long after I'm done with the challenge.

Vegan banana walnut muffins

makes 4 large or 6-8 regular size muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon baking powder
3 medium bananas, smashed (about 1/3 cup smashed banana)
2 tablespoons olive oil (you can use dairy or non-dairy butter or other oil)
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup pitted chopped medjool dates

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.Warm the milk and stir in the chopped dates, let them soften while you prep everything.
• In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and baking powder together and set aside.  
• In a smaller bowl, stir the banana,oil, milk and date mixture and vanilla together.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.Stir in the walnuts and raisins.
• Evenly distribute the batter into 4-6 sections of a muffin pan that has been sprayed with a baking spray. 
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  
• Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan and cooling on a rack.

Thanks for reading!

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BBQ Jerk Marinade

BBQ jerk marinated tofu and portobello with roasted potatoes and salad with berries and pecans

It was unexpectedly hot for a day, and I had to fire up the grill in honor of the preview of summer.  I was inspired by this video for BBQ jerk chicken by Bondi Harvest to make jerk marinade for my tofu and portobello mushrooms.  (language alert - there a couple words in the video not suitable for sensitive ears).  I didn't make my version as fiery as theirs, but used just a touch of chili pepper and threw in a handful of chopped fresh herbs from the garden (tarragon, cilantro and oregano).  I cracked open my next to last jar of BBQ sauce made from last year's tomatoes and substituted maple syrup for the sugar in the recipe.  The smoke wafting from the grill was scented with spices - yummy anticipation!  I served the BBQ goodness up with a side of roasted potatoes and a spinach and berry salad, this marinade is sure to be a repeat this summer.  If you like barbecue like I do, I think you're going to like this recipe.  Bondi Harvest focuses on using fresh ingredients and making things as easy as possible so check out their other videos for more recipes.

Jerk marinade (original recipe by Bondi Harvest)

Coriander root (I used about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro instead)
1 x brown onion (yellow onion)
4 x garlic cloves
5cm x ginger (I used a thumb sized piece)
3 x fresh chili  (I omitted it because I like it mild)
thyme 
100ml x bbq sauce  (I used 3/4 cup homemade sauce)
Pinch Dried chili (I used the tiniest pinch)
1 x tsp cinnamon powder 
1 ½ x tsp all spice
½ cup spiced rum (I used 1/4 coconut rum that I had from a holiday baking project)
1 ½ x tbs brown sugar (I used maple syrup)
1 ½ x tbs sugar (omitted)
juice of 1 lime
(added a small handful of fresh tarragon)
(add 2 tablespoons olive oil)

Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree. Let the tofu and mushrooms (or protein of choice) marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight before grilling.  Baste with marinade while cooking.

Thanks for reading!

Buds on a blueberry bush

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