Date and nut bars

Currently trying to avoid wheat and/or gluten, but I'm craving sweet stuff.  I'm also trying to eat through the pantry so we don't have so much stuff in the cabinets. 

Enter date and nut protein bars.  I couldn't find a great recipe that included everything I wanted to use  so I made up my own.

Ingredients 

45 pitted medjool dates, roughly chopped

Boiling water,  enough to cover the dates 

2 Cups nuts, toasted.  I used mostly almonds and some walnuts. 

1 cup flaxseed and chia seeds

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut  

1/2 cup dried apples torn or cut in small pieces 

1 tsp ground Cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1. In a small bowl pour the hot water over the chopped dates and let it sit while you move to the next step. 

2. In a food processor,  chop the nuts.  Some medium pieces are OK,  but generally less than 1/4" cubes. Pour into a large bowl.

3. I like to grind the flax seeds in a coffee/seed/spice grinder. Pour into the bowl of chopped nuts. 

4. Put the dates in the food processor to chop into a paste. Work in batches if needed. Pour into the nut bowl. 

5. Add remaining ingredients mix thoroughly.

6. Press into a greased 9x13 pan with parchment paper. 

7. Refrigerate for a few hours.

8. Cut and store.

Pear and Blueberry crumble

https://www.sweetandsavourypursuits.com/pear-and-blueberry-crumble/

This was ok. I was trying to use up frozen blueberries and pears, but it wasn't very sweet. 

2023 Thanksgiving

 I made cranberry sauce,  pumpkin pie-https://www.soulfullymade.com/pumpkin-pie-with-sweetened-condensed-milk/#recipe

roasted Brussels sprouts,  

A mushroom bean loaf-https://wallflowerkitchen.com/lentil-roast-with-gravy/

Gravy- https://hungerandthirstforlife.blogspot.com/2013/03/homemade-instant-mushroom-gravy.html?m=1

Baba Ghanosh

 https://www.themediterraneandish.com/baba-ganoush-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-10526

Grandma Mullen’s Cheesecake

 Grandma's cheescake recipe is as follows:

For the crust:
-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
-3 tablespoons sugar
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-4 tablespoons melted butter
Mix together and press into a spring form pan. 9” or 10”

For the filling:
-3 12oz. packages of cream cheese (36oz. usually is 4
1/2 packages of the 8oz).
-1 cup sugar
-5 eggs
-Juice of one lemon, plus the rind grated
Beat cream cheese and  sugar until it is creamy.  

Add the eggs then the lemon juice and rind. 
Pour mixture into the pan

Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes--the center
should shake when it is ready

If desired:
Beat 2 tablespoons sugar into 1/2 cup sour cream. 
Spread on top of cake and return to over for 10
minutes. (I don't ever remember Grandma doing this
part, probably because she usually served it with
rasberry puree).

Pear crisp

 https://www.theseasonedmom.com/easy-pear-crisp/#wprm-recipe-container-40765

Almond pear tart

 I really liked this tart, and it was the first time I made frangipane

https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/pear-tart-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-132219

Butter bean stew

 Made this for the teachers at Parent teacher conferences.  It used up some white limas. A couple people said it was good,  so I guess it was a hit 🤷 

https://skinnyspatula.com/butter-bean-stew/

Golden Milk powder

 https://minimalistbaker.com/4-ingredient-golden-milk-mix/#wprm-recipe-container-36777

I've wanted to try golden milk for a while now.  The first week,  I mixed it with coconut milk, So Delicious, I think it was sweetened,  from a box. The second week I tried both almond milk and yogurt. I prefer the coconut milk so far and also cold or on ice.  I tried it hot, but prefer it cold.

I like to quadruple the recipe and store it in a 12 oz jam jar

112 g ground turmeric

16 g ground ginger (plus more to taste)

16 g ground cinnamon (plus more to taste)

8 g ground black pepper (plus more to taste)

ADD-INS (optional)

1 g ground nutmeg

1 g ground cloves

Zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting

 https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/zucchini-cake-cream-cheese-frosting/

It was a little dense,  but this was really good.  I vegaized the cake part with flax egg and applesauce, I think.  Maybe it was almond milk.

 The frosting recipe called for a whole package of cream cheese,  and it was a bit much,  so I'd reduce that the next time. 

Thai Red Curry Recipe

 https://cookieandkate.com/thai-red-curry-recipe/#tasty-recipes-23970-jump-target

This is pretty good.  I used a red curry paste I found at the Asian Market.  Will have to find it again!

Authentic Falafel

 https://www.themediterraneandish.com/how-to-make-falafel/#tasty-recipes-10436-jump-target

This recipe was great!  I was a bit skeptical about using uncooked chickpeas but it worked out.  I forgot the baking soda in the soaking water and I ended up using 2 eggs and some chickpea flour to get everything to stick together better. Otherwise I followed the recipe and was able to use herbs from the garden.  Probably the last time before everything freezes. 

I also used the tahini sauce recipe on the same site.

Sesame Broccoli and tofu

 I wanted to use up some broccoli that E got.  I found a recipe from Bon Appétit.  https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/sesame-tofu-with-broccoli

Not sure what about the sauce, but I wasn't a huge fan.  Maybe it was too sweet,  and maybe a little too much ginger.  I won't be making it again. 

Zucchini brownies

 I have made a couple iterations 

Regular 

https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/zucchini-brownies/#wprm-recipe-container-19840

Gluten-free 

https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/the-best-zucchini-brownies/

Christmas Lima and Mushroom stew

 https://food52.com/recipes/11057-heirloom-bean-and-mushroom-stew

I liked the way this turned out. Used just what I had on hand,  so dried shitake mushrooms and white wine

Black Pepper Tofu

 I liked this! 

https://shortgirltallorder.com/black-pepper-tofu-green-beans

2023 peach round up

 Peach cobbler 

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/fresh-peach-cobbler/

This was good,  but the topping was a little thick and doughy.

Peach crumble 

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a40080202/peach-crumble-recipe/

Rhubarb muffins

 I wanted to use up the rhubarb mash I had from making the rhubarb syrup earlier last week. We had some spoiled milk,  so I used that too.

I used this recipe https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/150141/aunt-normas-rhubarb-muffins/

It wasn't too sweet, so I might need a little more sugar or honey. 

Creamy Zucchini Pasta

 A friend on Instagram posted this recipe,  so I tried it.

https://themodernproper.com/creamy-zucchini-pasta

I really liked this,  but the rest of the family didn't,  sadly 

Thumbprint cookies

 I made these for Christmas over two years ago and I'm finally posting. I really enjoyed them! 

I used homemade peach jam in the middle 😋 

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020653-thumbprints-with-dulce-de-leche-nutella-or-jam?smid=ck-recipe-android-share

Coconut date balls

 https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/coconut-date-balls/

Made this for a work pot luck,  they didn't go over well,  but I really liked them! 

Strawberry rhubarb crisp

 https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/old-fashioned-strawberry-rhubarb-crisp

This is great and two thumbs up from the rest of the family. 

Chocolate genache cake

 https://baranbakery.com/chocolate-ganache-cake/#mv-creation-339-jtr

I made this recipe because I had a lot of heavy cream to use up.  I liked the frosting,  but not the cake. The cake was a little dense and dry.

Strawberry rhubarb jam

 https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/how-to-make-strawberry-rhubarb-jam/

Pumpkin pie spice and coffee cake

 Needed this https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/homemade-pumpkin-pie-spice/

For this 

https://chefsavvy.com/pumpkin-coffee-cake/#wprm-recipe-container-35056

Vegan Goulash

 I made this recipe https://www.tastingtable.com/737484/vegetarian-goulash-recipe/

With a few substitutions, of course.  I didn't have diced tomatoes,  so I just used a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes.  Instead of the tempeh, I used some alubia Blanca beans I had in the freezer and a roasted yellow pepper instead of the red pepper. Most everything else was the same. I served it with some instant spaetzle from Aldi. Only I enjoyed anything 😌 but I will say that I prefer the cheese spaetzle better than the mushroom variety. 

Skillet Cornbread

Chowhound is no longer and it had my go-to cornbread recipe. I found a very similar one on https://greatist.com/eat/easy-skillet-cornbread#2 

• Ingredients (9)

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 1/4 cups finely ground yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, shaken before using

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Place 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) cast iron skillet; set aside. In a small saucepan or using the microwave, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter; set aside.
3. Place cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Whisk eggs in a medium bowl until frothy, then whisk in buttermilk until incorporated. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until dry streaks are just incorporated. (Do not overmix.) Fold in melted butter until just combined, then let mixture sit for 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, place the skillet in the oven until hot, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and swirl the melted butter around to coat the bottom of the pan.
6. Pour the batter into the hot skillet and bake until golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Place the skillet on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before serving. To serve, cut wedges directly from the skillet or let the cornbread cool for another 15 minutes before inverting onto a plate.

Ramen

 I attempted to make ramen yesterday and it turned out pretty good.  The kids really liked it, so I was very happy about that. 

3 cups water 

1 large piece of kombu dashi/ kelp 

6-7 whole dried shitake mushrooms 

In the instant pot for 2 min on high.  It may be OK to do it longer,  but read something that said the kelp can make the broth slimy. So I released the pressure after 2 min and took out the kombu. Then I added:

3 garlic cloves minced 

3-4 green onions, chopped white parts 

Thumb of Fresh ginger, grated

1 carrot chopped in 4" matchsticks 

1/4 cup soy sauce 

4 more cups of water 

In the instant pot for 10 min on high.  I released the pressure,  added the ramen noodles (3 small cakes of dried noodles) put the IP on saute mode until the noodles were cooked,  about 5 minutes. 

Then I added a little pepper, the green parts of the green onions, and 2 tablespoons of mirin. 

I added a squirt of Sriracha to add spice and a soft boiled egg (boil water,  add egg and cook for 6 minutes, remove from heat and cool to peel). Bean sprouts would have been good. 

Mushroom soups

 I made a couple different soups with mushrooms for Leela.  This first was a bit of a bust

https://www.rabbitandwolves.com/vegan-wild-mushroom-leek-chowder

This was a little more liked by the family and Leela in particular. 

https://mycancalekitchen.com/shiitake-soup-ginger-garlic/

Tteobokki

 I made this in the instant pot.  I liked the flavor,  but it took quite a while to cook off the liquid.  Will use less water next time.

https://sites.google.com/site/tteokbokkirecipe/?pli=1

More baking

 Bread machine recipes 

Cinnamon swirl bread-I was so happy how this turned out.  Just had the Cinnamon and baked in a loaf pan in the oven.  This was great as toast and on its own in the first couple days. 

https://saladinajar.com/recipes/bread-machine-cinnamon-raisin-bread/

No-Fuss Focaccia, made in the bread machine.  Stopped the dough cycle early and transformed into the 9x13 pan. Topped with pizza seasoning and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.  They burned a bit,  so next time I will try to mix into the dough better. 

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/no-fuss-focaccia-recipe

Lemon poppyseed muffins- made these without the glaze and they weren't too sweet. R called them salty and I can taste all the baking powder,  so I'm going to call these a bust.

https://handletheheat.com/lemon-poppy-seed-muffins/#wprm-recipe-container-27966