Moroccan Chickpea Tomato Stew

 

1 tbsp olive oil (I used sesame oil)

1 white or yellow onion, chopped 
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 lb chopped plum tomatoes or 1x 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes (I used about 4 cups of stewed tomatoes Farmbeau made and froze last fall; it had celery and onions in it as well). You will want to mash them or run some through a blender.
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I used chili powder)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 tbsp tahini (I used plain yogurt)
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tsp red wine vinegar

Heat oil over medium heat and saute onion 5 mins till translucent. Add garlic, cook 2 more minutes. 
Add tomatoes, sugar, and spices. Cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Add broth, simmer 10 minutes, uncovered. Stir in tahini. Add chickpeas and vinegar. 

We ate ours with buttered toast, but you might serve it with rice, quinoa, etc. 

The original recipe can be found online here: 
https://www.thefullhelping.com/moroccan-chickpea-tomato-stew/

Brendalyn's Favourite Apple Crisp

 

Heat oven to 350F.

Spread evenly in a square pan, 8"x8":

4 cups sliced, pared apples

Sprinkle with:

1/4 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

With pastry blender, mix till crumbly:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup soft butter

Spread crumb mixture over apples.

Bake uncovered about 40 minutes. 

Serve warm with milk or cream. 6 servings.

Original recipe: Betty Crocker

Banana Bread

  In my trusty box of recipe cards, there are two for banana bread. I've made them both recently, and decided to keep just this one:

3 mashed bananas

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large room-temperature egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9"x5" loaf pan. 

Whisk first four ingredients till well blended. Then whisk in egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Don't overdo it. Place in greased pan.

Bake 75 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out to cool completely on a rack.

Peasant Bread

(This recipe makes one loaf. The three above were made by doubling the recipe and using smaller loaf pans.) 

 

4 cups flour

1½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon instant yeast

2 cups warm water

 

Whisk dry ingredients together.

Add water and mix with spatula or wooden spoon till shaggy sticky ball and no dry streaks.

Cover and let rise till double; 1-1½ hours.

 

⋰

 

Preheat oven to 425F.

Grease 9-inch pie plate or 8½x4½-inch loaf pan.

Put dough in pan.

Let dough rest uncovered 15-20 minutes, till slightly puffy.

 

Bake 15 minutes.

Reduce to 375%.

 

Bake 55 minutes.

Remove from pan when taken from the oven.

 

 ⋰

 

I’ve made some adjustments to the above recipe. I use half whole wheat flour and half white; 2 teaspoons of honey instead of the sugar; I shape the loaves but it seems to me the original recipe allows you to dump the dough into a loaf pan and that works fine; and I bake at 325F for 15 minutes, then 45 minutes or 1 hour at 375F.

 I usually double the recipe and have added chopped green onions to the dough when mixing.

Aaaand ... one last tip if you're new at baking: I slash the tops of the loaves (about 1/2 inch deep) diagonally 3 times so that they can "spring" -- rise -- in the oven without the crust tearing during that first 15 minutes at 325F. 

 

Substitute for Buttermilk

 1 cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Let sit for 5 minutes.

Substitute for Egg

 1 tablespoon milled flax

1/3 cup water

Mix and set aside for 3 minutes.

Omelette Muffins

 

8 eggs

1/2 cup milk 

1 cup grated cheddar

1 cup bell peppers (any colour mix) 

1/2 cup baby spinach, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

2 green onions, sliced thin

 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tin.

Whisk eggs and milk. Stir in remaining ingredients.
(I had no peppers, so replaced that measure with a cup of chopped green onions. Mmmm.)
Scoop batter into tin, filling almost to the rim. You should have enough for 12 muffins. (I only got 10.)
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or till eggs are cooked.

With broccoli for supper

 I found the original recipe here: 

https://kirbiecravings.com/omelet-muffins/

Kirbie offers useful tips and more recipes, and bless their heart for this one. We loved it. 

 

Energy Bites (Melissa)

 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix wet ingredients, then add:

1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup ground flax
6 tablespoons chocolate chips

Refrigerate 30 minutes so they can most easily be shaped into balls. 

That's it. Keep frozen or not, as you like.