Coconut Chia Seed Pudding with Mango

I'm definitely late to the chia seed party. It took me a long time to wrap my head around eating something that I once grew into pets. If you're a certain age, you know what I'm talking about. Ch-ch-ch-chia!

These days you don't find chia seeds at Toys R Us. No, they're in the nutritional support aisle at Whole Foods.

chia seeds

So what are chia seeds? They're the seeds of a flowering plant in the mint family (thank you, Wikipedia). The reason everyone is eating them these days is that they're packed with fiber, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. These nutrients help control blood sugar levels, keep the brain healthy and reduce the risk of heart disease.

They also have a mild flavor, so it's easy to sprinkle them over a bowl of cereal or a container of yogurt. Eaten right away, they add a subtle crunch — and a lot of nutrition. 

When you soak chia seeds in a liquid, they soften and plump, like tapioca. That's why chia "pudding" recipes are popping up all over the Internet. 

In this recipe, you simply combine coconut milk and chia seeds, let the mixture sit overnight, then top with chopped mango. You can enjoy it as a nutritious, make-ahead breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack or a guilt-free dessert. 

You can really take this recipe and run with it. Coconut milk imparts great flavor. But almond, soy or regular milk would work well too. Or try strawberries, blueberries, bananas or pineapple in place of the mango. 

Stir chia seeds and milk in a container. Refrigerate overnight.

Mix in some chopped mango and put the rest on top. Enjoy!

Coconut Chia Seed Pudding with Mango

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp chia seeds

3/4 cup coconut milk (or any type of milk)

½ cup chopped ripe mango (or other fruit)

1.    Stir together chia seeds and milk. Refrigerate overnight.

2.    Give the container a shake. Mix in some of the mango.

3.    Transfer to a bowl. Top with remaining mango.

Note: Play around with the amounts of chia seeds and milk until you get a consistency you like.

Serves 1-2

The Best Banana Bread

This is it. The only recipe for banana bread you need. The only one you’ll ever make again. Dense. Moist. Banana Heaven. Go ahead and toss all your other banana bread recipes. 

Then go make this banana bread.  

Whisk together dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, salt.

Add walnuts and stir to incorporate them.

In a separate bowl, mash bananas. It’s important to use very ripe, darkly speckled bananas to get the best flavor.

To the bananas, add yogurt, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Fold the banana mixture into the flour.

Spread into a nonstick loaf pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the banana bread comes out clean.

Enjoy!

The Best Banana Bread

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated 

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup white whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I like 2/3 cup, but my husband prefers it a little sweeter)
3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)
3 or 4 very ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

1.    Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a nonstick 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside.

2.    Combine first five (flour through walnuts, if using) ingredients together in large bowl; set aside.

3.    Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl.

4.    Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky. It might look at first like there is too much dry ingredients and not enough liquid, but don’t worry. It will come together, just keep folding gently but consistently.

5.    Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes to an hour. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf.

Shakshuka

A few weeks ago my husband and I went to see Gravity in the theater. Watching a movie in a theater is a big deal for us. If I’m paying for a sitter to go watch a movie, then the movie better be worthwhile.

Most movies we go out to see are big budget action flicks best appreciated on the big screen. Think James Bond and Jason Bourne.

We’d heard and read a lot about Gravity. That the special effects were AMAZING. That the technology behind the visual effects was MINDBLOWING. That we simply HAD to see it in the theater. And not just any theater. An IMAX theater. So we did. And it was…boring. Yes, the special effects were good. But with the amount of hype I’d heard, George Clooney would have had to take my hand and pull me into his orbit to live up to my expectations.

That’s the problem with hype. Most things can’t live up to it.

That's why I waited so long to buy Jerusalem, the not-so-new cookbook featuring the multiculturally-influenced cuisine from (you guessed it) Jerusalem. I’d heard about it. Of course I had. It had generated lots of buzz in the foodiverse. But the hype held me back. There were too many superlatives being used to describe it. Too much swooning. Too many adjectives ending in “est.”

harissa

But then I heard about specific dishes. Read a couple of recipes featured alongside the book reviews. Saw photos. Of roasted butternut squash and red onion drizzled with tahini sauce. Lentils and rice topped with caramelized onions. Chicken and rice infused with cardamom. Tomato and eggplant baked into cheesecake. And shakshuka, a mix of tomatoes and peppers, flavored with harissa and topped with poached eggs. This year’s Eggs in Purgatory, apparently.

So I gave in. In spite of my misgivings I bought the book. And tried one recipe after another. The book opened up a new world of flavors for me. Earthy z’aatar, piquant harissa paste. Savory dishes redolent with cinnamon and cardamom. Simple ingredients, prepared simply, but in unfamiliar ways.

Some things, it seems, do live up to the hype.



Finely dice red peppers.

 Put peppers in a large saute pan along with harissa, tomato paste, garlic, cumin and salt.

Cook down until the peppers are soft

Add tomatoes (I used canned).

Simmer until the tomatoes and peppers begin to dissolve into a thick sauce.

Create dip in the sauce and pour one egg (or yolk) into each dip.

Cook until egg whites are set and yolks are done to your liking.

Serve hot with sliced baguette.

Shakshuka

Recipe from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Pilpelchuma or harissa paste
1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika (this isn’t in the recipe, but I added some for extra kick)
2 tsp tomato paste
2 large red peppers, cut into ¼ inch dice (2 cups in total)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
5 large, very ripe tomatoes, chopped (a 28-oz can of diced tomatoes is also fine)
4 large eggs, plus 4 egg yolks
½ cup labneh or thick yogurt
Salt

1.    Heat the olive oil  in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the pilpelchuma or harissa, smoked paprika (if using), tomato paste, peppers, garlic, cumin and ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes, to allow the peppers to soften.

2.    Add the tomatoes, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for a further 10 minutes until you have quite a thick sauce. Taste for seasoning.

3.    Make 8 little dips in the sauce. Gently break the eggs and carefully pour each into itw own dip. Do the same with the yolks. Use a fork to swirl the egg whites a little bit with the sauce, taking care not to break the yolks.

4.    Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny (you can cover the pan with a lid if you wish to hasten the process).

5.    Remove from the heat, leave for a couple of minutes to settle, then spoon into individual plates and          serve with the labneh or yogurt. (I served with slices of baguette.)

Serves 2 to 4

Double Chocolate Crepes with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Confession. These were supposed to be chocolate crepes, not double chocolate crepes. But I got impatient. I melted the chocolate but I didn't wait for it to cool before I added it to the refrigerator-cold crepe batter. Instead of transforming the pale yellow batter to chocolately brown, the melted chocolate froze into tiny little ribbons, like chocolate sprinkles scattered throughout the batter.

It tasted like a chocolate chip crepe. Not bad, by any means. But not what I was after. I wanted a chocolate crepe. So I added some unsweetened cocoa powder, along with a little sugar. Voila! I had chocolate crepes. Well, double chocolate crepes if you want to be finicky.

In truth, the crepes weren't even the point. They were really just a vehicle (a deliciously chocolately vehicle) for the sweet, ripe strawberries that are finally in season. If there's a better combination than chocolate, whipped cream and strawberries, then I don't know what it is.

Crepes are surprisingly easy to make. Combine flour, salt, sugar, vanilla extract and milk in a blender. 

Beat until smooth. Add eggs and melted butter and beat again. Refrigerate mixture for 1 hour.

Melt together chocolate and butter. (I did this in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds).

Stir until chocolate mixture is smooth.

Cool chocolate mixture for 10 minutes (!), then blend into the batter. See following picture for what happens if you don't wait for the chocolate mixture to cool first.

Stir in cocoa powder.

Heat a small skillet and add a little butter. Ladle in a few tablespoons of crepe batter. Yes, just a few tablespoons. Crepes should be thin, not thick like a pancake.

Swirl the pan so the batter just coats the bottom of the pan.

The top will dry out in about a minute.

Flip the crepe and cook the other side until the crepe is just cooked through.

Fold the crepes into quarters and let them rest on a plate while you cook the remaining crepes.

Top with strawberries and freshly whipped cream.

Double Chocolate Crepes with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Loosely based on a recipe by Mark Bittman

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

2 tsp vanilla extract, divided

2 eggs

2 Tbsp melted and cooled unsalted butter plus 1 tsp unsalted butter plus 4 Tbsp butter

1 ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp confectioner's sugar, or to taste

Strawberries, for serving

1.    Combine the flour, salt, sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a blender and beat until smooth. Beat in the eggs and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Refrigerate for 1 hour and beat again.

2.    Melt 1 ounce chocolate with 1 teaspoon butter. To do this, microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Remove from the microwave before the chocolate is completely melted. Then stir until smooth. Cool for about 10 minutes.

3.    Thoroughly blend chocolate mixture with the crepe batter. Add cocoa powder. Blend thoroughly.

4.    Heat a small, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add 1/2 teaspoon of butter. Ladle a few tablespoons of crepe batter into the pan. Swirl the skillet so that the crepe batter coats the bottom of the pan.

5.    When the top of the crepe has just dried out, flip the crepe. Continue to cook for another minute or so, until cooked through.

6.    Fold crepe into quarters and set aside while preparing the remaining crepes.

7.    For whipped cream, beat together heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar until soft peaks form.

8.    To serve, top crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.

Serves 4 to 6.

Smashed Avocado with Fried Egg on Toast

Breakfast is easy. Cereal. Or multigrain toast. Maybe oatmeal with walnuts if it’s cold out. Or a blueberry scone if I give in to temptation on a morning run to Whole Foods. 

Dinner is the meal that inspires me. I plan for it. I shop for it. I regularly daydream about it.

But lunch. Now that's the meal that trips me up. When I've got some, I heat up leftovers. But if I have to make something, it must be quick. But substantial. Tasty. Yet healthy. Whole, not processed (though I do have a weakness for Elios cheese pizza, go figure). Filling enough to tide me over until dinner. Heavy on veggies and grains if possible. Oh, and did I mention my intense dislike of cold cuts? 

This open faced sandwich is my new go-to. It fulfills all of my basic requirements. Simplicity at its best. Good-quality multigrain bread. Luscious avocado. A fried egg. (Which, believe me, is just gilding the lily. You could easily leave it out.) A drizzle of olive oil. A sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Lunch.

Perfection. 

Step 1. 

Step 2. You could stop right here and be a happy camper.

 Step 3. 

Step 4. Empty plate. Happy belly.

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

This really isn't even a recipe. More of an idea. Just in case you're looking for something else to do with all those apples you enthusiastically brought home after a fun day of apple picking. And put into pies. And crisps. And turnovers. And fritters. And cakes. And then you looked in the fruit bowl and it was still full of apples because, really, out on the orchard, it didn't seem like all that many...

One of my favorite ways to use apples is in pancakes. I'm not a huge fan of topping my pancakes with fruit. But I do love putting fruit into the batter. 

For these pancakes, I grate the apples before adding them to the batter. That way, they dissolve into the pancakes as they cook, lending the pancakes their flavor, without spoiling the texture. I add some cinnamon too. Just enough to let me know it's in there.

Start by making your favorite pancake batter. Full disclosure: I used Bisquick. 

Grate a couple of apples.

Add the grated apple to the batter, along with cinnamon. Stir until combined.

Heat the skillet over medium-low heat. When it's hot, add some oil, then 1/2 cup of batter.

Cover the skillet with a lid.

Remove the lid when the edges of the pancake start to dry up and the top of the pancake is covered with air bubbles.

Flip the pancake. While the second side is cooking, add a tiny pat of butter to the top and let it melt all over.

Drizzle with maple syrup and enjoy!

   

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Recipe by The Garlic Press

2 cups Bisquick

1 cup milk (I add a little extra)

2 eggs

1 to 2 apples, peeled (depends on the size of your apples and how much apple flavor you want)

1/8 to 1/4 tsp cinnamon (again, adjust to taste)

canola oil

butter

maple syrup, for serving

1.    Mix together Bisquick, milk and eggs until just combined.

2.    Grate apples. Add grated apple and cinnamon to pancake batter. Mix until combined.

3.    Heat skillet over medium-low heat. When hot, add oil to the pan. Put 1/2 cup batter in the center of the skillet. Spread it out to an even thickness. Cover skillet with a lid.

4.    When the edges of the pancakes have started to dry up and the top of the pancake is covered with air bubbles, flip the pancake.

5.    Cook until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown. While the second side cooks, melt a small pat of butter on the top of the pancake.

6.    Drizzle with maple syrup and serve.

Makes 6 pancakes.