Banana-jam muffins

We don't typically eat a lot of cold cereal, but lately both Mahesh and I have been on a frosted mini-wheats kick. One downside to this is the bottom of the bag has so many crumbs. I hate wasting food, but I also do not want to eat them as cold cereal. So I found this muffin recipe that uses up the crumbs. It is incredibly variable, and tastes great! Here are the modifications I would like to use next time we have extra mini-wheats crumbs to use up:

Banana-jam Muffins (or Banana fruit muffins)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar (can use less than this because those crumbs are sugary! maybe 1/4 cup)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups Frosted Mini-Wheats (crushed to 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 small bananas)
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons Jam or preserves (or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries or other chopped fruit)

Direction:

1. Butter or spray one 12-cup muffin pan, or use liners.

2. In medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In large bowl stir together Frosted Mini-Wheats crumbs, banana and milk. Let stand about 5 minutes or until cereal softens. Add egg, oil and vanilla. Beat well. Add flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Here is where you add in the fruit if you are using it, and fill the muffin pans evenly.

IF you are using jam, portion half of the batter evenly into muffin pan. Top each muffin with scant teaspoon preserves. Portion remaining batter evenly on top of preserves.

4. Bake at 375°F about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm.

African Peanut Soup

This is one of those recipes that I don't make very often, but wish I made more because it is so delicious and satisfying. It is an extremely variable recipe, in addition to the ingredients below you could throw in pretty much whatever extra veggies you like or happen to have on hand: carrots, cauliflower, fennel, whatever. For a vegan soup, it offers that strong flavor that usually only meaty soups provide. Delicious!

from allrecipes.com

African Peanut Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 large red bell peppers, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid (I prefer to use 1 14-oz can tomatoes, and 1 1/2 cups salsa)
• 8 cups vegetable broth or stock (or water)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
• 2/3 cup extra crunchy peanut butter (I use smooth too if it is all I have)
• 2/3 cup uncooked brown rice or barley

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Cook onions and bell peppers until lightly browned and tender, stirring in garlic when almost done to prevent burning. Stir in tomatoes (or tomatoes and salsa) vegetable stock, pepper, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
2. Stir in rice, cover, and simmer another fifteen minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in peanut butter until well blended, and serve.

Bread Machine Wheaty Flax Bread

For a while there I was making all our bread at home. I have lapsed on this a bit, but still make a lot of bread. Here is the recipe I use most often:

Wheaty Flax Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour or white flour
• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat bread flour or whole wheat flour
• 1 Tablespoon vital wheat gluten, optional, if you want fluffier bread (I usually do not use this)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/4 cup wheat germ or oatmeal or sunflower seeds

1. Measure warm water into bowl, add in butter, honey, molasses and stir well to combine. Sprinkle yeast on top and set aside to bloom for a bit.
2. Add dry ingredients to bread pan.
3. Stir up water mixture and dump into bread pan
4. Select basic wheat cycle; press start. 
5. Once it is mixed up CHECK DOUGH FOR CONSISTENCY -- on different days, different flours can produce different results. You want a nice dough that cleans the sides of the bowl. If it is too wet, add more flour. If it is too dry, add a little more water.
6. If using, you can add the sunflower seeds when the alert sounds during the knead cycle so they don't get pulverized, if you want.
7. Makes 1 1/2 lb loaf

Becky's Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is a famous recipe from my sister Becky, healthy and delicious! It also appeared in the Memare cookbook, a collection of family recipes.

Becky's Black Bean and Corn Salsa

-- 2 cans diced tomatoes, drained (or 4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes)
-- 2 cans black beans, drained
-- 1 can corn, drained
-- 1 large purple onion, chopped small
-- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
-- juice of 1 lime
-- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped small

Combine everything together and let set for at least 1 hour before serving, if possible.

Thai Basil Noodles

I saw some thai basil in the chinese market the other day and bought it. Today was the day to cook it up, so I found this recipe. The original recipe involves dirtying a lot of pots and pans which isn't really necessary so I tried to consolidate the steps here so I will only dirty 1 big pot and 1 skillet next time I make it. I really liked the asian spin on pesto. I cut down the oil and butter a lot from the original recipe and it was still very excellent. Here are some modifications I would make next time:

Thai Basil Noodles

-- serves 2

• 5 tablespoons cooking oil
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) fresh lime juice
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai
• 3/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 4 tablespoons white sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 block tofu, cut up into 1/2 inch squares
• About 1/2 pound assorted vegetables: carrots, broccoli (stems are fine), bell peppers, etc., peeled and sliced thinly. (this time I used 1 carrot, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 portabella mushroom, and 3 big stalks chinese brocolli, and I thought it could have used double the veggies)
• 1/2 pound 1/4-inch-wide dried rice noodles, soaked in hot water until softened and drained
• 1 tablespoon butter
• rooster sauce or other spicy asian sauce you like

1. Put 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally,until the garlic turns golden, about 10 minutes; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, combine the lime juice and sugar in a cup and microwave about a minute and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the basil and mint leaves in a metal strainer for easy removal. As soon as the leaves turn a dark green, pull the leaves out of the water. Drain and purée in a blender with the sesame seeds, cooked garlic, salt, and 1-2 Tablespoons oil (or more to get the consistency you want). (This herb paste will keep, refrigerated, for 2 days.) (ALT: can just make the herb paste like pesto using uncooked garlic and unblanched herbs, it is a little better if you cook it beforehand but not hugely)

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet, add tofu cubes and fry until brown on all sides. Salt and set aside. 

5. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a skillet over high heat (can use same one in step 1). Add the vegetables and some salt and cook, tossing, just until brightly colored. Keep warm.

6. Cook the noodles in large pot of water (same one as step 3) until tender, 30 seconds. Drain and transfer to a large skillet set over high heat with the butter and lime syrup; add salt to taste and cook, tossing, until well mixed and creamy. Add in vegetables, tofu, and basil-mint sauce to taste and toss. Garnish with the sesame seeds and some rooster sauce, and serve.

Apple Pie

OK so I make like one apple pie a year. That means half the time, LIKE TODAY, I forget what the heck I did last time and where I got the recipe and how long to cook the crust so I end up with undercooked crust and it's just the saddest thing ever. So here is the recipe so I will get it right next time:

PIE CRUST (from Martha Stewart)
makes 2 8-10 inch pie crusts

The trick with pie crusts is 1) keep everything cold and 2) try not to work the dough any more than you absolutely need to.

1 cup butter (2 sticks) plus more for pie plate
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough (I usually use 1 1/2 cups white and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1/2 t. salt
1 t. sugar (leave out sugar if making a savory pie)

-- cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces, refrigerate until needed
-- Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix to combine
-- add the chilled butter. Using a pastry blender, chop the butter into the flour mix - the mixture should resemble coarse meal with small pieces of butter, the size of peas, visible.
-- Drizzle 2 T. ice water over flour-butter mix, blend, repeat with 2 more T. of ice water. Keep adding T. of ice water until the dough looks like it will barely stick together. Squeeze a little bit if you must but don't touch it too much with your hands at this point. The dough will get a bit stickier as it rests.
-- divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten into disks, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
-- dust a work surface with flour. Roll out, each disk makes 1 crust.

APPLE PIE FILLING
adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (above)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon whiskey (can substitute 1 t. vanilla extract)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (225 degrees C). Fit bottom crust into a 9 inch pie plate.
2. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place sliced apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Toss until apples are thoroughly coated. Spoon apples into pan.
3. Dot apples with butter or margarine, then sprinkle with whiskey. Cover with top crust. Seal edges and cut steam vents in top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake an additional 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Mai Tai

This is our favorite Hawaii beverage!! For Halloween it became "eye tai" for obvious reasons:

I liked the taste of this recipe quite a bit and felt it was pretty close to the good ones we had in Hawaii, here it is:

The Perfect Mai Tai
adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups light rum
• 2 cups dark rum
• 1 cup orange curacao (orange flavored liqueur) or triple sec
• 1 cup almond flavored syrup or almond liqueur like amaretto
• 1 cup simple syrup (2 cups of sugar and one cup of water, boiled until dissolved)
• 10 limes, juiced
• 1/2 gallon fresh orange juice or other juice (I found a mixed tropical juice for this!)

Mix all ingredients together and serve with LOTS of ice. Beware this drink is delicious and strong!! Enjoy.