Friday, January 31, 2014

Peanut Butter Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I originally set out to make "crunchy" cookies since most "healthy" cookies we've made are more chewy. These are actually amazing! They have more like a short bread melt in your mouth texture, which is fine by us!

3/4 cup spelt flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup evaporated cane juice
1/3 cup organic brown sugar (sucunat would work too)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1 egg
1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Combine flour, rolled oats, baking soda, white chocolate chips and salt in medium bowl. In another bowl combine sugars, peanut butter, coconut oil and egg. Scoop dough, roll into ball and flatten on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a 375F oven for 12 minutes.



These were delicious! Me and Jenn ate a few each then took the rest to Jenn's work at Snakes & Lattes, a board game cafe!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Baked Beaver Tails

So in Canada, we have these flat whole wheat fried dough pastries that are topped with cinnamon, sugar, nutella, and other toppings.

Jenn and I used to snowboard at Blue Mountain (ON), and at the top of the mountain is one of these huts!



And that's when we fell in love with a pastry (I'm sure everyone can relate…)

I was looking up recipes for beaver tails, most of them were deep fried, but we managed to find a baked version. And, oddly enough it was submitted by my Grade 7 French Teacher!…I'm not sure if that's a full circle but it's partway there.

Onto the recipe!

We modified a few things! And of course it's not even in the same league as the deep fried version, but it's just as good, and even reminded us of the inside of an old fashioned timbit.

2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tbsp evaporated cane juice
3/4 vanilla almond milk
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt

Combine ingredients for dough, knead until smooth and elastic (7-10 minutes). Let sit, covered 1 hour  in a warm place. Form into 6 balls, flatten out into a tail shape, brush with coconut oil and sprinkle cinnamon sugar. Layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in a 350F oven for 20-22 minutes.



Dough before putting in the oven.






Cinnamon sugarized.



Toppings! We decided on fruity toppings. First is Apple Crunch (stewed apples - sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon, 1 tsp tapioca starch and coconut oil….heat in a saucepan until apples are caramelized) Spread almond butter onto beaver tail, layer on apples, sprinkle granola on top.



Blueberry/White Chocolate/Almond (cook blueberries with sugar and 1 tsp tapioca starch until syrupy). Layer on beaver tail, drizzle with melted white chocolate and toasted almond slivers.



Peanut butter/Chocolate/Banana, (mix 1 tbsp cocoa powder with 3 tbsp peanut butter, and stevia to taste), spread onto beavertail, layer on sliced bananas.


These were surprisingly good! We made 3 out of the recipe but I suggest you make them thinner and make 6.



Sunday, January 26, 2014

Okonomiyaki: "Your Choice" Japanese Pancake + BLT Salad

Jenn lives with 3 roommates, and one of them (Mitsky) is from Japan. We were inspired to make this popular Japanese-style pancake after watching her make a delicious looking one with bacon on top. She told us that Okonomiyaki means "your choice," meaning you can put whatever you like in the pancake, (ie. cabbage - popular choice, carrots, zucchini, bean sprouts, cheese, shrimp, chicken, or bacon) it's super versatile!

We decided on cabbage, carrots, green onion and bacon. This is a great last minute supper idea, as it has all of the elements of a balanced satisfying meal. You could call it a vegetable fritter although it is a "pancake" the vegetables over power the batter which acts more like a binder.

We also found inspiration from Closet Cooking; Kevin illustrates a perfect flip method using a plate (if you're making one large pancake as opposed to a few smaller ones.

Onto the recipe!

1 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup water
1 egg
Salt

2/3 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrots
1 green onion, sliced
3 strips bacon

Avocado Dressing
1 avocado, ripe
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper

Blend in a food processor, add water if needed.

To make pancake: Combine flour, water, egg, vegetables and salt. Pour into oiled non stick pan, layer bacon on uncooked side. Cook 5-10 minutes each side of until golden brown.

Makes enough for one meal or two snacks!

batter pre pancake


drizzled with avocado dressing and chili sauce! 





And with the extra bacon, we decided on a scrumptious BLT salad! (We used the avocado dressing above).
Croutons: bread, olive oil and salt/pepper